Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Chamber Supports Interstate 80 Tolling
Posted at 4:29 PM
Statement by Rob Wonderling
President & CEO
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
As the Keystone State, Pennsylvania played a critical role in our nation’s war for independence because of our politics and our geography. For modern transportation, our state has been a critical crossroad for freight and passenger traffic throughout the United States.
Now we are a political crossroads, as we await a decision on how we finance transportation and transit needs throughout the Commonwealth.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is currently evaluating whether to include Pennsylvania in an important pilot program that would allow the Commonwealth, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, to collect tolls from long-distance motorists using Interstate 80.
Tolling this major interstate was approved in 2007 by the Pennsylvania General Assembly as part of Act 44, which provided a workable solution to fund transit and transportation throughout the Commonwealth. This statute, which had bipartisan support -- including mine as a state senator, mandated higher tolls on the existing Pennsylvania Turnpike system and new tolls to be collected on I-80.
Since Act 44’s inception, the PA Turnpike has supplied more than $2 billion in supplemental transportation funding to address Pennsylvania’s structurally deficient bridges, deteriorating roadways, and 74 underfunded mass transit agencies. In fact, the state Department of Transportation has improved 980 miles of roadway and replaced 92 bridges with Act 44 funds thus far. A portion of these funds has been generated from turnpike toll increases of 25 percent in January 2009, and another 3 percent in January 2010.
For two years, however, the Turnpike Commission also has been borrowing money to make the payments, expecting to recover these funds through the tolling of I-80. It is our understanding that without tolls on I-80, transportation funding from the Turnpike Commission would be cut in half, to $450 million a year, beginning in July. Among those most deeply affected would be mass transit systems.
The proposal crafted by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would allow vehicles traveling short distances to proceed toll-free, addressing the concerns of residents along I-80. Meanwhile, the state estimates yearly revenue between $250 million and $350 million from tolls on the 311-mile interstate.
As the leading advocate for the region’s business community, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce holds firm to the belief that a sound transportation investment strategy is vital to long-term economic stability and growth. We believe a safe and viable transportation network is crucial in our efforts to promote job creation and job retention in our region and state
The FHWA’s approval of Pennsylvania’s application would allow for the full reconstruction and self-financing of I-80 and for the full funding of Act 44. In addition, we believe tolling is a fair way to capture the actual cost to use a major roadway and very likely represents the next generation of transportation financing tools, especially in light of the emergence of interest in Public Private Partnerships.
We urge the FHWA to approve Pennsylvania’s I-80 toll conversion project and empower the Commonwealth to implement the transportation funding solutions approved in 2007 by our Legislature and Governor.