The tolls would go to mass transit projects in Philly and Pittsburgh, neither of which comes within 100 miles of I-80.
Posted on 03/13/2010 7:33:32 AM PST by Willie Green
SEPTA, local labor leaders, and other proponents of I-80 tolls are putting Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.) in the hot seat, demanding that he push Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to approve the tolls.
Specter, seeking reelection this year, has declined to support or oppose the tolls, which are very unpopular in northern Pennsylvania.
"I would like to see Specter go see the president and get this done," said Patrick J. Eiding, president of the Philadelphia Council of the AFL-CIO. "It's that important. And he's in a position where he can do that."
Pasquale "Pat" Deon Sr., the Bucks County Republican who is chairman of the SEPTA board and a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said, "Arlen needs to be pushing for it and not dancing around it. He's like a ballerina."
Specter issued a statement yesterday saying, "I believe that tolling I-80 is a state matter."
He added that Senate committees were "working on a $600 billion highway/transit funding bill, and I am fighting for substantial funding from that bill to supplement the $191 million for SEPTA, which I helped get in the stimulus package."
Political considerations have become a key factor for both sides in the battle over I-80 tolls.
Democrats along the I-80 corridor fear they could be voted out of office if the tolls are approved by the Obama administration. Residents of the region say I-80 tolls would cripple the local economy and push heavy trucks onto local roads.
In the Philadelphia area, politicians see a decision for the tolls as a boost for jobs, the economy - and votes.
Eiding, the labor leader, said Specter "is in the asking mode to be endorsed, and this should be weighed heavily in any decision."
At issue is a proposal by the state to make I-80 a toll road for its 311-mile length across northern Pennsylvania, administered by the Turnpike Commission. The Federal Highway Administration has twice denied the state's bid to do so.
A third application was filed Oct. 29, and a decision is expected soon. On March 23, Gov. Rendell and Turnpike Commission attorneys reportedly will meet with LaHood in a final effort to win approval.
Deon said Rendell had put the chances of success at 50-50, "which tends to make me believe we're in trouble."
Without the money from I-80 tolls, the state would have about $450 million less annually for highways, bridges, and mass transit. About $120 million of that was to go to SEPTA.
SEPTA general manager Joseph Casey said yesterday that major projects, such as "smart-card" fare collection and rebuilding the City Hall subway station, would be put on hold if money from I-80 tolls was not forthcoming.
Without the funding, the new fare system "may never happen," Deon said yesterday.
He said 3,600 construction jobs for SEPTA projects would not be created if the projects were deferred for lack of money. Statewide, he said, 36,000 construction jobs would not be created.
Deon said he wanted Specter and the other members of the state's delegation "to get LaHood to approve tolling of I-80, and he's a direct appointment from Obama. U.S. senators can make this thing happen."
But Specter, if he supports tolls, could pay a price in northern Pennsylvania.
"We've been trying to get Sen. Specter's attention for two years, and he's done a pretty good job of ignoring us," said Ed Edwards, leader of the Alliance to Stop I-80 Tolling, a coalition of business, government, and political groups in northern Pennsylvania.
"If the senator wants to weigh in on behalf of his friends in Southeastern Pennsylvania, he's certainly welcome to do that," Edwards said, "but people in this part of the state will pay attention."
Specter's opponent in this year's Democratic primary, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), opposes I-80 tolls.
Sestak said it would be better to tax petroleum companies drilling for natural gas in Marcellus Shale formations and use that money for transportation projects.
Tolling I-80, Sestak said in a statement, "would disproportionately impact the pocketbooks of a certain segment of the state's population - which includes small businesses and the residents along I-80 - and may not receive necessary approval from federal authorities anyway."
Sestak said such a drilling tax, which has been proposed this year by Rendell, could produce more money within five years than tolling I-80
Seems like the obvious step is to raise SEPTA tolls by $120 million instead of having a cross-country trucker subsidize commuter fares in Philly.
So 350 million from the tolls will go for transportation
350 million originally going for transportation will now go for something else
No tolls1
The taxes never stop coming. Philly’s mayor Nutter is proposing a 2 cent per ounce tax on soda. Next is the air we breathe!
The tolls would go to mass transit projects in Philly and Pittsburgh, neither of which comes within 100 miles of I-80.
Elections have consequences, folks! Stop the bull$&it that there is no difference between Dems and Republicans!
‘zackly. The fuel tax should cover the road cost.
Don't know about the local economy but tolls will definitely screw up surface traffic along state highways that parallel the interstate. It happens here in Ohio-- evey time they raise the turnpike tolls, local traffic gets worse. Big semis barreling down country roads. Great.
Every 50 miles or so, I gotta' gear down andf pay a toll?
but tolls will definitely screw up surface traffic along state highways that parallel the interstate. It happens here in Ohio-- evey time they raise the turnpike tolls, local traffic gets worse.
Local state highways are an option in Ohio because Ohio is relatively flat. But to travel across Pennsylvania, in any kind of reasonable time, you really only have two options: I-80 or the Turnpike (I-70/76).
Yeah... you'll see other east/west highways on the map, like US-30, US-422 or US-6... but I wouldn't recommend taking them through the mountains if you're in any kind of hurry. LOL!
Guv Spendell ping.
As a citizen of Williamsport, this affects our area greatly. We have beaten Rendell twice already, but now with Obama in office, the chances of the DOT approving the tolls is higher.
The citizens of Williamsport will benefit because most of the toll revenue will be collected from out-of-state thru-traffic.
And collecting tolls on I-80 is infinitely preferable to their bonehead idea to tax natural gas wells.
Tourism is a decent industry here. Tolls on I-80 will retard the tourism industry.
ping
One thing I hate about these long distance toll roads is the toll plaza rest areas. The exits are few and far between and if you want to stop and get gas and something to eat, you have to use a toll plaza or pay extra tolls to get on and off the highway. The toll plazas are overpriced with limited choices and the McDonalds doesn’t accept coupons. Their prices were significantly higher than a non-toll plaza McDonalds.
Tourism is a decent industry here. Tolls on I-80 will retard the tourism industry.
While in Williamsport, visitors should be advised to also see nearby Ricketts Glen State Park on PA 487 (no toll)
Ricketts Glen is famous for it's many beautiful waterfalls.
Although approved as a National Park in the 1930s, federal funding fell through due to WW-II.
Tolls on I-80 will not deter tourists from visiting your attractions.
If anything, tolls will help keep out the travelling trailer-trash and other litterbug riff-raff.
The tolls are unpopular along most of the I-80 route in Pennsylvania because (1) most of that route is very rural and while it does serve east and west bound interstate travel and truck shipping, it also provides a major route between the rural towns nearest to it, and (2) the main purpose of the tolls IS NOT for I-80 and those living nearest to it, but for “mass transit” systems in the populous eastern edge of the state.
Now then, if Pennsylvania sold it’s stretch of I-80 to a private interest, a private interest who established tolls along it, then Pennsylvania could designate the tax revenue it got from that private company however it wanted to.
The biggest losers in either case are likely to be the residents of the rural towns along I-80, at least those who have come to depend on it, depend on it without tolls.
Now then, if Pennsylvania sold it’s stretch of I-80 to a private interest, a private interest who established tolls along it, then Pennsylvania could designate the tax revenue it got from that private company however it wanted to.
Highway "privatization" is a corrupt scam that enables private swindlers to usurp public property and skim the monopolistic toll revenue into their own pockets.
Pennsylvania taxpayers are infinitely better off by retaining taxpayer ownership of their highways, and retaining every penny of the tolls that they pay to themselves.
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