Lawmakers: 'I-80 will be a toll route'

[rev214]

Lawmakers: 'I-80 will be a toll route'

Posted by Brett Lieberman/The Patriot-News July 25, 2007 13:58PM


"I-80 will be a toll route," U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, D-Philadelphia, vowed on Wednesday.
Brady, other lawmakers and congressional aides promise that a plan to block Pennsylvania from tolling Interstate 80 to generate as much as $946 million a year for highways, bridges and mass transit will be stricken from the final transportation spending bill.
"We're going to do what we need to do," said Brady, the senior House whip.
An amendment by U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-State College, and Phil English, R-Erie, to prevent federal dollars from being used for establishing or collecting tolls on the 311-mile highway was included Tuesday night in the $104 billion appropriations to fund transportation, housing and other programs.
"There's no chance in hell it's going to be in the final bill," predicted another person involved in the issue this morning.
Their amendment, approved on a voice vote in a mostly empty House chamber, had advocates of the toll plan scrambling today to spike the measure when House and Senate conferees meet to resolve differences between their spending bills.
It also renewed excitement among opponents of the state transportation package, who welcomed the move.
Tolling I-80 is a key aspect of the deal struck a week ago between Gov. Ed Rendell and state legislators that along with higher tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike would used to fund transportation needs across the state.
But Peterson, whose district includes more miles of I-80 than any member of Congress, and English, cast the transportation package as an unfair tax on rural residents to fund mass transit systems such as SEPTA in southeastern Pennsylvania.

[arrrrgh15]

WAY TO GO JOHN PETERSON AND PHIL ENGLISH!!!


"Tolling I-80 rolls up the welcome mat and tells visitors and customers of local businesses to go elsewhere," English said. "We are not going to stand by while Harrisburg raids western Pennsylvania travelers and picks truckers' pockets to prop up Philadelphia's mass transit system." (Phil English)
Amen!

And how much of the money from the toll road would actually go into fixing I-80, or would be spent repairing/upgrading infrastructure local to a particular tolled section of I-80 (particularly that shithole of a stretch near the Milesburg exit)?

Example, if I drive I-80 in PennDOT Dist 2, does the money go back to Dist 2?

Or did Fast Eddy plan on spending it all in Philly so he can get re-allected?

P.S. I voted for Swan.

[reels18]

Why is a Philly representative worried about a toll road that comes nowhere near his district?

My guess would be that Philadelphia would get a major share of the proceeds.

More money tossed down that bottomless pit, payed for by people that do not live there and have no desire to visit.

How many more years must the citizens of Pennsylvania support the corrupt ,inept and wasteful city administrations?

How about someone making Philadelphia a city that pays its own way?

There is a reason why so many have left the city. High taxes, crime and political corruption have driven out most of the businesses and the majority of working blue collar workers.

The city is a joke and they will continue to have the last laugh as long as politicians make excuses for the behavior of the residents and dump our hard earned money into that wasteland.

If I was given the choice between living in Philly or Beruit, I would have to think hard before I made my decision.


Why a toll road? Does Rendell want to sell that road to a private company too?

[bloomautomatic]

The way I see it, our tax money already paid for that road, so there's no need to toll it. Rt 43 from California, PA to West Mifflin is toll because that section was built by PA turnpike commission. they couldn't collect tolls from California and south because that that section was built by penndot with tax money. at least that's the story I heard.

Vince

[arrrrgh15]

Why is a Philly representative worried about a toll road that comes nowhere near his district?

My guess would be that Philadelphia would get a major share of the proceeds.

How about someone making Philadelphia a city that pays its own way?

Why a toll road? Does Rendell want to sell that road to a private company too?

Exactly. And Rendell knows that if he has the support of voters in the philly area, he's got another election in the bag.

In the meantime, I gotta pay a toll to drive down a freakin road to visit family.

If my company has to pay a toll every time an employee has to drive on 80 to get to a project location, and we pass that on to the customer, which he/she will in turn pass on to a consumer, do you think it's going to cost the average guy in PA more than they think? People that aren't even driving on the road are going to pay for this one way or the other. Everybody should be pissed.

There hasn't been a SINGLE stretch of toll road that I've driven on in PA yet where I said "Gee, what a great stretch of well maintained and routinely upgraded roadway that will surely save me time on my drive and wear and tear on my vehicle." Every single one has been a POS. I-80 isn't great, but PennDOT will sure as shit do a better job than the turnpike comm.

[RandomTask]

If I-80 goes toll, it won't see a penny of my money, and neither will the businesses that run along it. I live about 6 miles from I-80 and can always find an alternate route that will be just as fast (or even faster) for almost all of my needs if I plan properly

[Withee355]

Well to play Devils advocate. We have 2 roads that go across PA. 1 is I 76 toll road. Truckers by pass this road to not have to pay the tolls. I-80 is free truckers abuse the shit out of this road costing us PA residents a shit load of money for the up keep. I am sorry to say but I am for this. Now with that said I am a Regan Fiscal Conservative, I believe in tax cuts and small government but I also think that people from out of state shouldn't have a free "ride" across our state. There is a reason why our roads in PA are so jacked up. Because there just isn't the money to pay to fix it. I hope I din't piss anybody off its JMHO

[blueeyedbyrd]

Truckers by pass this road to not have to pay the tolls. I-80 is free truckers abuse the shit out of this road costing us PA residents a shit load of money for the up keep

There are other reason's behind why the truckers do not use the toll road, it's not because they don't wan't to pay the tolls. Though tolls for trucks are excessive, paying that toll also pinpoints their location for logging purposes. I also don't see how they are "abusing" the non-toll roads. If half the 4-wheelers out there driving had manners there would be a lot less wrecks involving trucks. Most people don't understand that just because there are 18 wheels and 18 breaks doesn't mean they can stop on a dime because some jack-hole in a ford festiva pulled out infront of them. JMHO and off topic, but truckers get a bad rap for no reason.

ETA: PA should take a lesson from Texas or California in road construction. Texas has some of the best roads I've ever driven and even after years have gone by you can still see the white stripes in the middle of the road, because they are reflectors, not paint.

[Withee355]

ETA: PA should take a lesson from Texas or California in road construction. Texas has some of the best roads I've ever driven and even after years have gone by you can still see the white stripes in the middle of the road, because they are reflectors, not paint.

Texas and the People's Republic also don't have the weather we do

[scoutjoe]

. We have 2 roads that go across PA.

there is that funny Rt 22 thing too...but that might only be pittsburgh to harrisburg I can't remember off the top of my head where it goes from there.

That being said I have a funny feeling that if I-80 goes toll, there will be alot more traffic rolling through this little town