Sen. Arlen Specter 711 Hart Building
Secretary Ray LaHood
Department of Transportation
202-366-4000
Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.
383 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Dear :
As a person with a front-row seat to the funding crisis affecting our state’s highways, bridges and public-transportation systems, I am writing to express my support of Pennsylvania’s joint application to convert Interstate 80 to a tolled facility — a vital part of a comprehensive transportation-funding plan.
Our firm is involved in projects throughout Pennsylvania, and every day, we see the difficult funding decisions transportation agencies must make given extremely limited resources. We see first hand the consequences of inadequate investment in transportation: Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of structurally deficient bridges; our roadways are aging faster than we can maintain them, and transit agencies lack the capital and operating funds to preserve and enhance service.
In 2007, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed and Gov. Ed Rendell signed a pioneering transportation-funding bill into law. This statute, Act 44, mandated higher tolls on the existing Pennsylvania Turnpike and new tolls to be collected on Interstate 80. Act 44 is a comprehensive, intermodal solution. Since its inception, Act 44 has generated $2 billion in supplemental funding for roads, bridges and the state’s 73 mass-transit agencies — helping repair and maintain crumbling infrastructure and create jobs in the engineering industry and associated fields.
Today, Act 44 is being funded wholly through existing Turnpike revenues. However, the payments to PennDOT will increase next summer if I-80 is tolled or drop to a flat rate if it’s not. Without tolling-application approval, our legislators will have to contend with a significant funding shortfall — more than $472 million next fiscal year alone — with few good options at their disposal to raise the billions needed just to maintain our aging ground-transportation network.
I believe tolling I-80 is a balanced, reasonable and innovative solution to begin to tackle our funding crisis — a solution that benefits all Pennsylvania motorists and transit riders and creates jobs. Therefore, I encourage you to allow the state to continue to address our funding challenges by fully implementing Act 44 through the conversion of Interstate 80 to a toll road.
Please contact me directly should you need any further information about this important issue.
Sincerely,
Please fax copy to NAIOP Pittsburgh 412-928-4683 or mail to Foster Plaza 5 651 Holiday Dr. Pittsburgh, PA 15220