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Top FAQs On Re-Submission
A.It was not rejected. In September 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) raised questions on the commonwealth’s application,. The response to these questions was filed with FHWA on October 30, 2009. The PA Turnpike Commission and PennDOT together are continuing the state’s efforts to fully implement Act 44, which calls for higher tolls on the current Turnpike mainline system and also allows for the tolling of I-80. This effort was designed and approved by the General Assembly to address our transportation-funding crisis. If we do not earn approval to toll I-80, our transportation-funding gap will rise to more than $60 billion in 50 years. Act 44 was signed into law in July 2007 to help respond to PA’s transportation funding needs. The Turnpike has no other choice but to pursue tolling I-80. Yes. Both organizations jointly filed a Phase I application with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) seeking authorization to toll I-80 as part of a pilot program authorized in the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21). Recently, the PTC and PennDOT have responded to FHWA questions regarding the Phase I Application. The federal review and approval process associated with Phase II of the application will take at least 6-8 months to complete, and the earliest tolls would be collected on I-80 is the year 2011. We will post updates to our website at www.paturnpike.com/I-80 throughout the process. Additionally, there will be public meetings along the entire I-80 corridor at appropriate points in the process to ensure that the public is informed and has the opportunity to provide input. The General Assembly and the Rendell Administration considered several options to address the funding crisis before approving Act 44. Those options included a steep increase in the gasoline tax and other fees and/or taxes. Many of these options were debated on the House and Senate floor and were the subject of numerous public hearings. Ultimately, Act 44 was passed because it represents a fair and balanced approach to raising the necessary revenue. Pennsylvania’s approach will serve as a model for other states as officials come to terms with the fact that the gas tax no longer works as the principal revenue source for transportation projects. The legislative process is an inherently public process. Bills are proposed and debated in both houses in public sessions; votes are cast in public, widely reported, and documented. While the process is open to the public and often televised statewide, the process does not require Public Meetings on every issue. However, like any major transportation project, there are many stages in the implementation process for the tolling of I-80. State legislation is the beginning of this process, not the end. The PTC is conducting an extensive public outreach program. The first round of Public Meetings was completed in November 2007. In addition to public meetings, the Turnpike has participated in more than 50 meetings with various interests along the corridor. Additional Public Meetings would be conducted if the I-80 Toll Conversion Project advances to Phase II development. The General Assembly and Governor Rendell agreed that the PTC is the ideal agency to manage, operate, maintain the facility and collect tolls. Tolling I-80 will allow the PTC to invest $2.5 billion over the next 10 years in I-80 rehabilitation and reconstruction of roadway, bridges, interchanges, and intelligent transportation systems. Another $1 billion will be used for ongoing resurfacing, asset management, and operating maintenance costs.
A.Under Act 44, the burden for providing supplemental transportation funding is shared by ALL motorists across the state and country. I-80 tolls are a vital part of an overall, statewide solution. Under the Act, roughly two-thirds of the new funding will be generated by revenues collected on the existing Turnpike system. The remainder will be generated through I-80 tolls. In other words: drivers who travel the Turnpike will shoulder a greater load than the drivers who use I-80. Finally, because of the E-ZPass Incentive program approximately 7 out of 10 passenger vehicle trips on I-80 will not pay a toll provided the driver is enrolled in E-ZPass. This incentive applies to all I-80 users and is in full compliance with Interstate Commerce laws. The PTC and PennDOT are working together to implement Act 44. In October 2007, the PTC signed a 50-year lease agreement for I-80 with PennDOT. Both organizations jointly filed a Phase I application with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) seeking authorization to toll I-80 as part of a pilot program authorized in the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21). Recently, the PTC and PennDOT have responded to FHWA questions regarding the Phase I Application. The federal review and approval process associated with Phase II of the application will take at least 6-8 months to complete, and the earliest tolls would be collected on I-80 is the year 2011.
A.No. Pennsylvania has made tremendous progress since Act 44 was signed into law in July, 2007 by addressing the $1.7 billion annual funding gap identified in an independent analysis. In the first three years of Act 44 alone, the Turnpike will provide $2.5 billion in new funding to PennDOT. (As of October, 2009, the Turnpike has provided $2.050 billion.) Act 44 is clearly working. In fact, experts believe that no state can match Pennsylvania’s efforts to provide new revenue for its transportation network. But funding challenges still exist. PennDOT estimates that our annual deficit for interstate maintenance alone is approximately $600 million a year. Our state has among the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the nation and our interstates as well as local roads and bridges continue to deteriorate; the simple fact is that unless we adequately fund this need, we face a catastrophic breakdown in our transportation network. The tolling of I-80 is a critical component of our state’s plan to address this challenge. This state law, passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Rendell in July 2007, is designed to address the state’s transportation funding crisis. Under Act 44, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will lease I-80 from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and implement a tolling system. Additionally, the PTC has raised tolls on its mainline and will sell bonds based on future toll revenues. The PTC has provided payments to PennDOT for the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges statewide and to help fund Pennsylvania’s 73 mass transit agencies. To view the payment schedule, CLICK HERE. The new funding stream will yield an average of more than $2.3 billion per year over the life of the 50-year lease. To access a copy of Act 44, CLICK HERE. Yes. In compliance with Act 44, the PTC entered into a 50-year agreement with PennDOT in October 2007 to lease I-80 and assume responsibility for managing the interstate. To view payment information, CLICK HERE. Act 44 allows:
Toll revenue collected on I-80 will be reinvested in I-80. The PTC plans to invest $2.5 billion over the next 10 years in I-80 rehabilitation and reconstruction of roadway, bridges, interchanges, and intelligent transportation systems. Another $1 billion will be used for ongoing resurfacing, asset management and operating and maintenance costs. As stipulated by Act 44, the PTC makes annual payments to PennDOT that will average $1.67 billion a year for the next 50 years for roads, bridges and mass transit. For the first time, the Commonwealth has a funding stream that is inflation sensitive and covers the entire transportation network. To date, the PTC has contributed more than $2 billion in new transportation funding for projects all over the state. To see how PennDOT used the money in 2007-2008 click here.
A. The federal funds received via the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) were really just a one-time infusion intended to help jump start the nation’s economy in the short term. ARRA was never intended to address each state’s long-term transportation funding needs like Act 44 does. In fact, the $1.1 billion received by PennDOT from Washington D.C. has a life expectancy of about 18 months; it will likely be spent down by mid 2010, at the latest, while Act 44 will be working for 50 years -- possibly more. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Act 44 is providing significantly more transportation money to the state compared to ARRA. In fact, Act 44, in its first three years alone, provides double the funding of ARRA.
A.With transportation funding needs growing, other interstates will probably need to be tolled in the future to generate funding for maintenance and reconstruction. I-80 was identified first for a number of reasons. There are two major east/west Interstates across Pennsylvania, the Turnpike and I-80. As tolls increase on the Turnpike – as necessitated by Act 44 – more and more truck traffic will divert to I-80, making the roads to get from the Turnpike to I-80 more congested and requiring higher maintenance investments. At the same time, this diversion diminishes revenues collected on the existing turnpike and could hinder the commission’s ability to honor its Act 44 commitment. Also, I-80 handles a tremendous volume of national commercial truck traffic, and tolls would require the heaviest, long-distance users of the interstate to pay their fair share. Finally, when the U.S. Congress enacted a law to allow for the tolling of existing Interstates, I-80 was cited as a potential candidate for one of the new tolling pilot projects established in 1998. As part of the I-80 Toll Conversion Project, a traffic and revenue study will focus in part on potential traffic diversion from I-80 to local roads. Study results will be shared with the public and used to help make decisions on the location of toll facilities and whether local road improvements should be considered.
A.There is no question that tolls will have an economic impact on the corridor, particularly on those businesses that ship and receive goods via I-80. There is also no question that the planned $2.5 billion, 10-year I-80 rebuilding plan enabled by tolling will have a very positive impact on the corridor. We are conducting an economic assessment with an independent firm to study the possible impacts of tolling. We will compare those potential impacts with the potential benefits enabled by tolling through the increased investment on I-80. We’re committed to continuing to explore the economic impact if the project is accepted into the ISSRRP Program. The PTC has assembled a consultant team to assess current economic conditions and potential impacts related to the proposed tolling of I-80. The Economic Study will consider the general impacts of Act 44 in addition to the effects of tolling I-80 on residents, businesses and communities along the corridor. The Study will also consider potential economic mitigation policies that will support and promote growth and development along the corridor, including the role that I-80 plays in freight movement and technological growth and development. In addition to examining the impacts of tolling I-80, the team will also investigate the benefits. One primary area of study will be to assess the effect of additional capital spending – resulting from Act 44 – on employment within the highway corridor.
A.The decision to rely on tolls to generate supplemental funding was reached by the General Assembly and Gov. Edward G. Rendell after a public debate on other options. Gasoline tax revenues will continue to decline as Americans drive less and rely more on alternative fuels and efficient vehicles. In addition, there is no political consensus for increasing the gas tax at either the state or federal level. Tolls represent the most efficient and fair way to generate this badly needed revenue. National experts and other states agree that tolls are a critical tool as the nation moves forward to close the funding gap. Many states are exploring tolls – on both existing and proposed roadways – as a new funding stream simply because the gas tax is seen as the old method of paying for highways. Even though the gas tax is the primary funding mechanism that originally built America’s interstates, it’s insufficient to finance the reconstruction. Federal policymakers are likely to consider allowing states broad authority to implement tolls as lawmakers begin to debate options for our long-term transportation needs. (National Funding Alternatives) The Transportation Funding and Reform Commission issued a report in November 2006 that confirmed a funding crisis exists for transportation facilities in the Commonwealth. The report stated that Pennsylvania has more than twice the percentage of structurally deficient bridges than the national average, and more than a third of the 21,000 miles of state-owned secondary roads are rated poor. Pennsylvania’s state-owned bridges are on average 50 years old. The report identified an annual need of $1.6 billion in additional funding for the transportation network. To review the executive summary of this report, CLICK HERE. Act 44 is designed to begin addressing the need to repair these roads and bridges while making critical investments in the Commonwealth’s 73 public transportation systems. To date, the PTC has provided more than $2 billion in new transportation funding to PennDOT that was used for road and bridge projects throughout the state. View the Act 44 map to see some of those projects. There is no single cause that led to the funding crisis, but the fact remains that state and federal transportation funding has failed to keep pace with inflation and growing transportation needs as the result of an inadequate funding system. For the second year in a row, the Federal Highway Trust fund is insolvent. National efforts to reduce vehicle fuel consumption have succeeded, although good national policy, decreased revenues generated from gas taxes. For the first time ever, Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) decreased in 2008, causing less gasoline to be consumed thereby further reducing gas tax revenues. Lawmakers and experts from across the country agree that alternative funding solutions are needed. As time goes on, rising costs and fewer vehicle miles traveled will continue to erode transportation funding.
A.PennDOT and the Turnpike will continue working with FHWA as officials review the state’s joint application. We expect and welcome a thorough analysis of our plan and more dialogue with FHWA officials. We believe that we have addressed all technical issues and questions raised, and we are optimistic that we will ultimately receive Phase-I approval. Our correspondences with FHWA will be shared publicly via this web site. Should we receive approval, we will finalize more detailed engineering and environmental impact studies to be submitted for Phase II- approval. To ensure that the communities along the corridor remain informed of our progress, we will schedule another round of public open-house meetings if Phase 1 approval is granted. Public Meetings will be scheduled at various points in the project development process if the I-80 Toll Conversion Process is advanced to Phase II development. In the interim, you can stay informed of project status and up-to-date information by visiting our website at www.paturnpike.com/i80. You may also request a speaker from our Project Team to address your civic group or organizations. To contact the Project Team with your speaker request CLICK HERE.
A.The proposed toll-collection parameters reflect our effort to ensure a fair approach that does not lead to widespread diversion of traffic from I-80 onto local roads; it also minimizes the personal economic impact on individuals who rely on I-80 every day to go to work, run errands or visit friends and family. We anticipate nine toll-collection points along the 311-mile length of I-80. Tolls will be collected electronically, either with an E-ZPass transponder or by capturing an image of a vehicle’s license plate. Under this Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, there will not be any tollbooths, either on the interstate itself, or at any of the 59 interchanges along I-80. Vehicles traveling at the posted highway speed will pass under a steel framework, or gantry, located approximately 30-35 miles apart between I-80 interchanges. Under the proposed tolling system, passenger vehicles enrolled in the E-ZPass program will not pay a toll at the first toll collection point they encounter. In other words, these motorists could travel 60-70 miles without paying a toll (e.g: you could drive from Clarion to Grove City and back without paying). The tolling structure will be finalized in the PTC’s Traffic and Revenue Study. Toll rates will match Turnpike Mainline toll rates, which in 2011 are expected to be eight cents per mile for cars and 30 cents per mile for the average truck. This would result in a cost of about $25 for a car to cross the state, and $100 for the average truck. Incentives are planned for E-ZPass customers in which 2-axle passenger vehicles will not pay a toll until the second toll gantry. This will help reduce traffic diversions by 60 to 80 percent, depending on location. Volume discounts are also being considered for E-ZPass commercial customers. A summary of the incentives is listed below:
No. Unlike the existing Turnpike, I-80 will not be run as a “closed system” with physical tollbooths at each interchange. A fully automated Open Road Tolling (ORT) System is proposed at nine locations along the highway corridor. With 59 existing interchanges, there would be one toll collection facility, on average, every five to six interchanges and separated by 20 to 50 miles, allowing many local trips to remain free. ORT allows for non-stop travel at highway speeds. To learn more about the potential toll locations, click here. No. There are no plans to construct any service plazas on I-80; therefore, local businesses serving I-80 travelers will not be affected by new service plazas.
A.First and foremost, the toll revenue collected on I-80 will be reinvested in I-80. No I-80 tolls will ever be used for transit. Tolls collected on I-80 will result in a much higher direct investment in I-80 – from a current average of $60 million annually (and probably falling) to more than $250 million a year in just the first decade — that’s more than four times the level of current funding. The $2.5 billion rebuilding plan has been designed to ensure I-80’s long-term viability as a safe roadway. I-80 is not unlike every other interstate in the commonwealth and nation: Some sections are 50+ years old, numerous structurally deficient bridges need to be rebuilt, interchanges need to be upgraded or improved for safety reasons and, in some areas, the entire roadway needs to be replaced from the ground up. Once tolls are implemented, this major reconstruction can begin. Target projects for I-80 in the first decade include: As specified in the PTC/PennDOT Lease Agreement, I-80 toll money WILL NOT be used to generate funding for transit; rather, transit funds will result from toll increases on the Turnpike Mainline and through the issuance of monetization bonds. Without this funding, transit agencies would have been faced with substantial service cuts and increased fares – ultimately, reducing access for over 300 million annual users causing negative effects on the economy. Act 44 funding combined with several other funding programs will keep public transportation agencies benefiting from a stable source of revenue. Roadway preservation typically involves resurfacing the top layer of black top on a roadway. The black top layer needs to be replaced every 8-12 years. Roadway reconstruction includes the replacement of the original sub-base, pavement base and pavement surface.Reconstruction should occur every 50-60 years. Fracture Critical bridges would be expected to fail/collapse if one of the main load-carrying components or connections would fail, such as a beam, girder, or truss chord. Bridges designed today typically have multiple load paths to create redundancy; therefore failure of a single component should not result in collapse. Functionally Obsolete is an indication of the bridge’s overall status in terms of the ability to service the traveling public. This type of bridge has older features (for example, road widths and vertical clearances) compared to more recently built bridges. The term Structurally Deficient refers to the bridge’s overall condition in terms of structural soundness. Structurally Deficient indicates that the bridge has significant deterioration to one or more of its major components, has load restrictions, or is closed to traffic. It does not necessarily mean that the bridge is unsafe, just that it needs to be monitored and/or repaired. Yes. In the first 10 years, $369 million will be used to address long term capacity and safety needs. Of that amount, $230 million will be used to widen the paved surface and to replace four overhead bridges and one mainline bridge with low underclearance. That will provide motorists with two travel lanes in each direction through maintenance and construction zones to minimize back-ups. An additional $100 million will be used to provide auxiliary lanes at interchanges at the eastern end of I-80 to address capacity and safety issues. 11Why do you need to invest all this new money in I-80 when it seems to be in pretty good shape now?
A.There’s no question that PennDOT has done a tremendous job in recent years to improve the I-80 road surface. Still, much of the interstate needs to be rebuilt. The roadway surface has been improved, but in-depth engineering studies demonstrate a continuing need to completely excavate and replace the highway from the dirt up. I-80’s condition is similar to the entire interstate system interstate system: If it is not modernized and rebuilt, we could be forced to restrict the weights of some vehicles that utilize the highway or worse -- a catastrophic event that could necessitate closing parts of the interstate. The increased investment provided by Act 44 will ensure that I-80 is rebuilt from the ground up over the life of the 50 year lease -- a necessity due to the age of bridges and remaining original pavement. PennDOT has made significant investments in improving I-80 in recent years. The proposed systematic reconstruction of I-80, combined with an asset management approach supported by dedicated revenues will enable the PTC to build on that track record. An estimated $1 billion investment in maintenance and operations is planned over the next decade to ensure safer, smoother and more efficient traffic flow in work areas and during changing weather conditions. The PTC is considering the use of many safety features presently enjoyed by travelers on the Turnpike’s Mainline to enhance communication and improve response to emergencies and other situations. The PTC will contract with local emergency service providers that will be centrally dispatched through a Traffic Operation Center for immediate response to clear accident scenes. The PTC also plans to spend $39 million in the first 10 years to implement Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) like dynamic message signs, highway advisory radio and closed circuit cameras to provide motorists with advance warning of changing travel conditions. |
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