黑料社区Applauds DOT Decision to Reject I-80 Tolling
NATSO, the national association representing truckstops and travel plazas, applauds the Department of Transportation’s rejection of Pennsylvania’s application to toll Interstate 80.
Auto drivers would have paid $25 and truck drivers would have paid $100 to drive on the Interstate, which runs east to west across the entire state. 黑料社区criticized the endeavor, arguing that fuel taxes remain the most equitable source of revenue to support the Interstate.
黑料社区President and CEO Lisa Mullings hailed the decision, saying tolling I-80 would have caused trucks and motorists to find alternative routes to bypass the tolls, further weakening businesses along the Interstate that already are struggling against a weak economy. New tolls also would have double taxed motorists who already pay for the Interstate system through state and Federal fuel taxes.
“We’re pleased that DOT has moved away from the idea of tolling the Interstate as a means of generating revenue,” said Mullings. “Tolls divert traffic to secondary, less-safe roads as well as away from those businesses operating along the Interstate that are most equipped to handle highway traffic. This marks a major victory for highway-based businesses. We hope that other states will see that tolling existing Interstate is not a viable solution to revenue problems.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) submitted a joint application to DOT in late October requesting to implement tolls on I-80. The application was the third such attempt by the Commonwealth after two previous applications were denied. However, the most recent application was the first submitted under new leadership at DOT. After this third rejection, Rendell classified I-80 tolling attempts as “over.”
“We would like to thank the Members of Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation for their efforts in defending businesses all across I-80,” Mullings said. The leadership of Representative Glenn Thompson, along with fellow state Representatives Paul Kanjorski, Kathy Dahlkemper, and Chris Carney, was instrumental in this victory.”
The original plan to toll I-80 was derived out of Act 44, approved by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2007. Act 44 established a system in which the PTC would “lease” I-80 from PennDOT, paying annual lease payments under the expectation that I-80 would be converted to a toll road. In all three applications, DOT found that the application to toll I-80 did not meet the criteria of the pilot program under which the applications were submitted.
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