Posted on 01/20/2019 9:42:57 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Call it the $350 million question.
Over the next six weeks, the Pennsylvania Turnpike will try to decide whether to rehabilitate its five sets of tunnels one at a time over 10 to 15 years or enter into a public-private partnership with one firm that would do all of the work in five to six years and be responsible for maintenance for about 30 years.
And the $350 million is key because a large part of that money would be the upfront cost if the agency decides to pursue a partnership, said Brad Heigel, the turnpike’s chief engineer. Mr. Heigel said the agency is doing its due diligence by reviewing the partnership idea.
“This is technologically very intriguing to me,” Mr. Heigel said. “The question becomes whether we do them all at once through a partnership or one off at a time until we’re done.
“[The partnership is] kind of a neat idea. It has to be affordable. I’m just concerned about the financial aspects of it.”
The turnpike has four sets of tunnels that date back to its original construction in the 1930s and ’40s: Allegheny, 6,050 feet long in Somerset County; Tuscarora, 1.1 mile long at the Huntingdon-Franklin County line; Kittatinny, 4,727 feet long in Franklin County; and Blue Mountain, 4,339 feet long and 600 feet from Kittatinny in Franklin County.
The Lehigh Tunnel on the Northeast Extension is 4,380 feet long and opened on the Lehigh-Carbon County border in 1957.
Mr. Heigel said the tunnels generally are “very sound” structurally but all of them need interior tile work as well as modernization of their electrical, HVAC and water systems. The commission spends about $1 million per set of tunnels annually for operations and maintenance, plus the cost of an inspection every other year.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
I am going to assume this is the same story as California: have gas and car registration taxes that are supposed to go to roads and infrastructure then steal those for colostomy bags for illegals since road repair doesn’t get votes.
Fast forward a decade or so of this theft then go back to the taxpayers without pockets inside out and your hand out and cry “the roads are deplorable and need fixing!” Get a combination of bonds and new taxes to pay for them. Steal THOSE funds for more colostomy bags for the illegals b/c your benefits have been a magnet for illegals.
Rinse and repeat.
“...a public-private partnership...”
So, in other words, BOHICA, PA Taxpayers! ;)
The Pennsylvania turnpike is paid for by all the tolls collected, isn’t it? Someone educate me if I’m wrong. Aren’t the tolls collected supposed to pay for ongoing maintenance, plus set asides for major maintenance such as described here? Does all turnpike money collected stay with the turnpike, or have they siphoned off money for other purposes???
So the taxes these bloodsuckers take and squander aren’t enough such that they want to extort the private sector for more.
Here we go...
Of course the OTHER OPTION for the PA Turnpike is to send a bit less money to the ‘mass transit’ systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh - but then that would force politicians to make up for it or...fire the corrupt people running those systems.
Interesting concept, We travel through the Lehigh Tunnel occasionally, the southbound tube is the newer bore and that was where a trucker died when an electric conduit failed and smashed into the cab. The North Lund tube is in horrible shape from tile deterioration. They must be able to use newer materials and get rid of the tile completely!
I'm guessing this is a "serious" story to justify spending a lot of favoritism money.
Every tunnel on the planet will get smokey and every tunnel on the planet will need to be priodically cleaned.
What they don't need is upgraded AC or ventilation .... no one is ever in those tunnels for longer than a minute or so and no one keeps their windows open anyway.
I believe you. Yet another Government-sponsored boondoggle to screw hard-working Americans and line pockets! Grrrr!
ROFL, this is such total boondoggle b.s. First, there seems to be no reason to pursue a huge $350 million project if the tunnels are structurally sound (as FReeper knarf notes, no one is in these tunnels very long). Second, the PA Turnpike already generates VASTLY more funds from tolls than are spent on maintenance and operations of the turnpike system. The PA politicians have turned it into a cash cow for diverting literally BILLIONS of dollars over the years to other projects.
When I travel to Pittsburgh I go through 4 tunnels. There are times in the winter when they will close one side just to clear big icicles
oops, my number 2 may be irrelevant to this situation (though still a huge problem in PA funding in other contexts).... helps to read the article before commenting! I was imagining that “public-private partnership” referred to some new funding mechanism which would have added corruption potential, but the article seems to use the phrase simply for referring to how one contractor might be selected to do all of the tunnel projects. I’m not clear on how that is so different from any other selection of a contractor for large public projects by a state or federal agency, but if they feel good by calling it a “public-private partnership” it may not mean much.
The fact they are looking for alternatives tells us all that it is NOT self-sufficient.
See Post 13: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3721439/posts?page=13#13
Ir is confirmation of my hypothesis.
Truckers sue Pennsylvania over years of 'excessive' toll increases
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission placed an “unduly burden on interstate commerce” by imposing several years of steep toll hikes and diverting billions of dollars in toll revenue toward PennDOT projects — many of which did not benefit the Turnpike, a group of owner-operator truckers argued in a lawsuit filed this week.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Harrisburg accuses the Turnpike — which has increased toll rates by more than 200 percent since 2006 — of violating federal commerce law and hindering a citizen's constitutional right to travel.
https://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/13430085-74/truckers-sue-pennsylvania-turnpike-for-placing-unduly-burden-on-interstate-commerce-truckers
Understand the “Turnpike Commission” is unionized.
I’d read there is one supervisor for every 5-6 workers.
I assume these jobs have benefits too.
You pretty much nailed it. To add insult to injury the PA Turnpike contributes a chunk of change annually to maintain OTHER roads in PA. So robbing the corporation each year means there’s no money set aside to repair the tunnels.
Bump
So in other words, "Fascism". And just what "private" companies will these be? Chinese?
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