SUNBURY — State legislators won’t approve a leasing agreement for the Pennsylvania Turnpike until they hear whether the Federal Highway Administration will permit tolls on Interstate 80, a Valley lawmaker says.
The state Turnpike Commission is expected to decide any day whether it will submit a partial application to the FHWA seeking preliminary approval to place tolls on the 311-mile interstate.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ed Rendell is supporting a 75-year, $12.8 billion turnpike lease offer from a public-private consortium led by Spain-based Albertis, which has said its interest will remain through September.
A joint initial application from the Turnpike Commission and the state Department of Transportation to the FHWA to place tolls on Interstate 80 was returned earlier this year because it was incomplete.
“The Turnpike Commission’s plan wasn’t the slam-dunk they said it would be,” state Sen. John Gordner, R-27 of Berwick, said last week.
“The commission still hasn’t given a full response to the FHWA’s questions,” Gordner said. “They said they may have a partial response soon.”
The Legislature has two alternatives to the proposed lease, which languishes before the House Transportation Committee.
If a lease of the turnpike is desired, an open and competitive bidding process under the direction of the State Transportation Commission should be considered, Gordner said.
The other option would be to enact serious efficiency measures for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, including eliminating jobs and making the Turnpike’s operations more competitive.
State Rep. Russ Fairchild, R-85 of Winfield, agrees with some of Gordner’s ideas.
“The FHWA is going to have to make the decision,” he said. “I-80 doesn’t meet the existing criteria for the tolling program.”
Fairchild said he believes the Turnpike Commission is dragging its feet by not resubmitting the application to the FHWA.
“They know if the government says no to tolls on I-80, they will have to revisit Act 44,” he said.
Act 44, passed by the state Legislature last July, allows for the placement of tolls on Interstate 80. In October, the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT entered into a 50-year lease agreement as required by Act 44.
Under the agreement, the Turnpike Commission would transfer $83.3 billion to PennDOT for transportation projects across the commonwealth.
The Turnpike Commission would pay $750 million to PennDOT in the first year and would maintain Interstate 80.
Fairchild said he believes the FHWA will reject the Turnpike Commission’s request for federal authorization to place tolls on I-80.
“From what I’ve read and statements from the FHWA, it will be close,” he said. “I just don’t see that I-80 qualifies under the guidelines. I just don’t think that it’s right to pay to ride on that road. It’s a commerce corridor. I know what that means to local businesses.”
The bottom line comes down to competition for the turnpike, Fairchild said.
“They’ve already said they plan to raise rates 25 percent on the Turnpike,” Fairchild said. “When that happens, people will bypass the Turnpike and come up here to 80. It’s a job-protection plan for the Turnpike Commission.”
On July 14, the Turnpike Commission announced plans to spend $250 million a year to upgrade portions of I-80, including climbing lanes and clearance projects.
“They’re not saying whether that $250 million includes design and construction of the gantries,” said Maria Culp, president and chief executive officer of the Central Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce in Milton.
“Why would the Turnpike Commission want to mislead people?” she said. “I-80 isn’t falling apart. The trucking industry magazines rate it (I-80 in Pennsylvania) the most improved in the country.”
Culp said she believes a comprehensive study of the economic impact of I-80 and the impact of tolls is necessary.
“It doesn’t make sense to toll parallel routes,” she said. “The Turnpike Commission just wants to squeeze its competition.
“There’s still a fight ahead. We have to keep the pressure on.”
Deborah Templeton, vice president of supply chain services at Geisinger Medical Center, said many Geisinger employees, patients and suppliers would be adversely affected if tolls were placed on I-80.
“We have over 2,800 employees, most of them at Danville, who use the Interstate,” said Templeton, who estimates tolls would cost the health care system $4 million annually.
“That’s probably a shot in the dark,” she said. “That’s dollars not going to quality health care.”
n E-mail comments to wlaepple@dailyitem.com
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