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Posted on 01/25/2021 3:35:05 PM PST by lightman
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is moving forward with its controversial plan to consider charging tolls — possibly $1 or $2 — on as many as 10 major bridges in the state.
PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian told a Senate panel on Monday the list of potential bridge candidates to be tolled will be announced in mid-February.
The bridges will be spread across the state and will only involve ones located on interstates.
Once the list is finalized, the department is obligated to conduct public outreach for each of the bridge candidates. Special emphasis is being placed on identifying the economic impacts to under-served populations as well as direct and indirect impacts as a result of traffic trying to avoid the tolls, she said.
The revenue generated from the tolls paid by users, including those from out-of-state, is estimated to be upwards of $1.8 billion. The tolls collected on a bridge would be used to pay for its rehabilitation or replacement and ongoing maintenance. Any money left over would be directed to other projects in the same transportation district, she said.
This idea, approved in November by the Public Private Transportation Partnership board, requires no legislative approval since the Legislature set up the board to encourage this type of public-private partnership.
However, the Legislature could apply the brakes to stop it.
Republican Sens. Scott Hutchinson of Venango County and Michele Brooks of Mercer County have offered a resolution that would do just that. They maintain that moving forward with this idea would have a negative impact on local economies.
Representatives from the trucking industry told the Senate Transportation Committee it would hurt their industry as well.
“Tolling any existing highway is not going to be the answer for the industry,” said Joe Butzer, interim president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association. “We can’t afford bridge tolling.”
As it is, he said his industry is one of the most highly regulated in the country and operates on 1% to 3% margins. He said operating a tractor-trailer today costs $7,400 more than it did in 2012 when Act 89, the last major transportation funding law, was passed. Rather than pay the tolls, they said truck drivers would likely seek out alternative routes around them.
He and Mark Giuffre, chairman of the motor truck association and vice president of state government affairs for UPS, said the trucking industry accepted the second highest gas tax rates in the country when Pennsylvania enacted Act 89 for road and bridge construction. Instead, that money has been diverted to fund such things as state police, mass transit, and bike paths.
“If you’re going to create a new toll, create new infrastructure,” Giuffre said.
Hutchinson echoed that sentiment, saying that’s what the department should be focused on instead of tolling bridges people can now use for free.
“It’s a fairness issue,” he said. “There’s probably a better justification when you say new project, two lanes to four lanes, maybe that should be taxed as opposed to something that already exists.”
Gramian said that idea hasn’t been ruled out, given the transportation funding woes the department is facing. In late November, hundreds of road and bridge projects nearly came to a halt until the state treasurer shifted money around to keep the work on track.
The department is working on a statewide transportation funding plan that is to be finalized by July. It looks at a variety of alternative revenue streams to help generate more money to address the state’s aging infrastructure.
That includes such ideas as congestion pricing, which is a surcharge to use roads during peak traffic hours; managed lane concepts such as high-occupancy vehicle lanes; and vehicle miles traveled concepts.
But Gramian said the major bridge public-private partnership is the first idea it is moving.
In the past, PennDOT relied heavily on gas taxes as a major funding source for road and bridge projects. But Gramian said it has become a less predictable source of revenue, particularly with the auto industry moving toward more electric vehicles for passenger cars, and some segments of the trucking industry are looking at it as well.
What’s more, she added there are increasingly more trucks on the road compounding the deterioration of and congestion on the state’s roads and bridges. Federal requirements are forcing PennDOT to direct more funding toward the interstates, which has the cascading effect of diverting money away from projects on state highways. And federal funding hasn’t dramatically increased since 1993.
Many of the state’s bridges on interstates are about 60 years old and “nearing the end of their useful life,” Gramian said. The older they get, the more costly and complex their rehabilitation becomes.
Considering that 26% of the vehicle miles traveled in this state use the interstates, she said, “It is imperative to keep these assets in a state of good repair.”
Using the public-private partnership approach, PennDOT would seek proposals from private companies to design and upgrade major bridges in need of major repairs or replacement and agree to maintain it for 20 to 30 years.
Gramian said there was not an overwhelming amount of negative comments about the idea when the Public Private Transportation Partnership board considered the plan.
Hutchinson said that was probably because “this was done in a not very transparent process at a time of year when people were not paying attention and quite frankly, didn’t think they would have to pay attention to this obscure board.”
He added, “I think you’ll find a little different story as we move forward. That is why I have introduced a resolution to stop this.”
Transportation Committee Chairman Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria County, indicated that the committee likely will hold additional hearings on this topic.
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Tax the gas through the roof for roads and bridges, tax the shale and the frackers, tax the cigarettes, tax the casinos, tax the bridges, tax the weed. It’s amazing what they’ll find that needs taxing, yet they can never figure out how to spend the money on the things they say the taxes were going to.
The costs of the PA Turnpike construction were supposed to be fully covered years ago and the tollbooths removed, yet somehow the tolls just keep rocketing upwards.
Slick Eddie Rendell spent it all to his buddies.
Remember he wanted I-80 to be a toll road.
One would hope they will look at increasing employee productivity before considering any more tax payer contributions.
Here in SC, you drive by a road construction project and you see five guys. Two are working their tails off and three are leaning on their shovels. Been that way for years.
They can only tax Democrats.
Democrats never saw a tax they didn’t like. So, they won’t mind.
I u understand that road maintenance needs to be paid for. But we already pay gas taxes for that purpose. Are they saying a toll on a specific bridge will be set aside for maintenance of that specific bridge? At least in theory tolls for each bridge will go in a separate account?
Truckers...just don’t go to PA.
Paraphrasing J. D.Rockefeller to describe our tax and spend politicians: Citizen asks, "How much tax is enough?" Politician's answer" "Just 1 dollar more?"
Corrupt government and stupid voters - a perfect compliment - LOL!!
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” ― Winston S. Churchill
The license plate cameras are pretty effective.
It took Chicago a while to catch up with me, because my vehicle is leased and the registration came up as the leasing company, but eventually I got a bill several months after traveling thru.
At least in theory tolls for each bridge will go in a separate account?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Yes, it is modeled after the ‘algore’ Social Security lock box.
Nice in theory but when it comes to budgets politicians can make money go wherever they want it to go.
If some other project that is considered more important needs money, the bridge that has more will get less funding from the DOT general fund.
And magically the preferred project is fully funded.
I am not saying that this is necessarily bad but it is a shell game that politicians use to dup the tax paying public in to think that they are responsible wardens of the tax payers dollar.
Leftists usually treat transportation accounts as slush funds and use them for big city bus stops, bicycle projects, impediment pedestrian lanes, decorative embellishments, and other non-motor vehicle related purposes. Truckers should make EVERY effort to avoid crossing into PA. They should decline to make any deliveries of food or fuel into the State.
PA USED to have the highest gas tax. We’re now #2. 3 guesses as to who beat us and the 1st two don’t count.
https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/taxes/t055-s001-10-states-with-the-highest-gas-taxes/index.html
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The money will go primarily for bike paths, mass transit, and to provide more padding for politician's pockets.
Never, ever willingly accept a new tax. The government, at every level has proved itself to be completely and utterly untrustworthy.
Just as we give one more amnesty and then promise to secure the border.
Just as we "fixed" Social Security years ago and now face a shortfall.
Politicians tell us that "bait and switch" schemes by private business is illegal....
No, tolls for each bridge will go into a separate pocket.
As the ancient wag said, "Don't steal. The government hates the competition".
Every couple of years here in Texas, the Rat and Rino politicians try to foist an income tax on us, and we have to practically beat it back with pitchforks.
Yes, our property taxes are high here, but the solution to that is to stop spending our money like drunken sailors. Anyone who thinks all the various other taxes and fees will magically go away once the force an income tax upon us has been smoking too much unicorn dung.
Pretty sure you can’t toll an existing interstate without federal approval..
Fast Eddie tried to make 80 a toll road and fed shut it down.
Of course with Dems controlling the Fed probably will let to happen.
I think that the current administration would delight in any policy that curbs personal transportation.
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