Going the Extra Mile: How PA Turnpike Employees Support Local Communities
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is more than a system of roads, bridges and tunnels — it’s defined by the employees who serve it, the customers who depend on it and the communities it connects and supports every day.
Our organization has adopted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These 17 goals, which provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, guide our community engagement activities. The SDGs recognize that ending poverty and hunger must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans, waterways and forests.
The PA Turnpike is Committed to Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship
Driven by our core values and supporting a regenerative future for our customers and communities, the PA Turnpike aims to become the first sustainable highway by 2040. By committing to high sustainability standards, we are the first and only state agency to achieve a 100% score from the PA GreenGov Council three years in a row.
We are committed to improving efficiency and sustainability by integrating new technologies into our processes. Over the next two decades, we will integrate solar, fiber, inductive charging and connected and autonomous vehicle technology projects across our system.
Recently, we just kicked off an employee-initiated composting pilot program at our Central Administration and facility buildings serving the Harrisburg area. Employees collect and process organic waste, including coffee grounds, food scraps and paper towels, which decomposes naturally into nutrient-rich compost. During the pilot, the compost will enrich the Giving Garden’s soil. Composting promotes sustainability by reducing waste and methane emissions, improves soil quality and aligns with our commission’s broader environmental goals.
Key sustainability initiatives include:
- Installed our first solar microgrid – a tolling industry first –in New Stanton, Westmoreland County.
- Continuing to lay a 550-mile fiber optic broadband network.
- Installed 63 EV chargers at eight service plazas to help meet customers’ demand for electric vehicles. Another 80 will be installed across the system by 2027.
- Planted six pollinator habitats across the Pennsylvania Turnpike system, with more than 40 other locations being explored for development.
- Our clean water initiative aims to protect streams and rivers that pass beneath or near our roadway.
Beyond our work supporting the Commonwealth, PA Turnpike employees contribute to and support our local communities in a variety of ways.
PA Turnpike Employees Contribute More Than $86,000 to Charities
The PA Turnpike actively participates in the State Employee Combined Appeal (SECA), Pennsylvania state employees’ annual workplace charitable giving campaign. They provide critical support to approximately 1,000 participating nonprofits through a one-time donation or recurring payroll deduction. Dollars can be directed toward the fund at large, or a specific entity.
Between 2022 and 2024, employees contributed $86,294 to the campaign, with more than 75% of those contributions coming from payroll deductions.
Additionally, the PA Turnpike organizes several fundraisers during the SECA campaign, including a sub sale, cornhole tournament, cheesesteak lunch, Hike the Pike and an online auction. Over the last three years, employees have had the option to donate a sub, generously contributing 430 sandwiches to the Bethesda Mission.
PA Turnpike Employees Give Back in Meaningful Ways
Our employees are committed to making a lasting, positive impact on our local communities. The PA Turnpike is active in the local communities in several ways. Employees volunteer in a range of situations, from packing boxes at local food banks and donating essential supplies for disaster relief to supporting local women’s shelters and safety initiatives.
Every year, employee volunteers plant and maintain the PA Turnpike’s Giving Garden, which provides fresh vegetables to food banks and people in need. In 2024, this small plot near the Central Administration Building’s walking trail yielded 1,160 pounds of vegetables.
The PA Turnpike’s Maintenance Department participates in an annual Right of Way Clean-Up and hosts a spring planting initiative to help keep our roadway clean and beautiful.
Employees across our offices and maintenance sheds donated items to support neighboring states hit by hurricanes, collected donations for Shalom House, supporting abused women and children in Harrisburg, packed meals to support more than 2,000 families for the Central PA Food Bank and brought holiday cheer through Toys for Tots and our Angel Tree.
Our employees also share their expertise at individual events, such as the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the Pennsylvania Auto Show, Mechanicsburg’s Jubilee Day, National Night Out celebrations and Harrisburg Area Community College’s India Day.
The PA Turnpike is Raising Awareness of Human Trafficking
Since 2022, we have supported another, life-saving connection: ensuring human trafficking victims who find themselves along our roadway can find and access help. Our role in interstate transportation means we not only have a responsibility to act, but the ability to make a significant impact through education.
Our Women’s Network, in partnership with the Pennsylvania State Police and YWCA, leads a comprehensive Human Trafficking Awareness campaign, educating employees and customers on the signs of human trafficking and what drivers can do to help bring victims home safely.
This includes quarterly employee trainings and a series of 85 road signs in emergency pull-off areas and service plaza entrances urging motorists to “call *11 to report human trafficking.”
Supporting Pennsylvania Responders and Highway Workers
The Pennsylvania Turnpike incorporates safety into everything it does and works to build public awareness through initiatives that increase safety for traffic incident management responders and the public.
This past fall, we partnered with TIM Heroes, Inc., and the Tyler Laudenslager Foundation to host a National Move Over Law Awareness Festival, bolstering public education on slowing down and moving over for vehicles stopped along the roadway. While safety messages were at the forefront of this event, the event served as a community engagement event for families and featured free, family-friendly activities including a kids’ safety zone, 20+ touch-a-truck vehicles, face-painting and handouts. We are thrilled to host this year’s event on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
For us, connection means going beyond “being a good neighbor;” it embodies everything we strive to do. United behind our goals of positive culture, growth, safety and stewardship, our employees create powerful, community-building connections that drive our roadway, and every life it touches, toward a better future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How does the PA Turnpike support local communities?
The PA Turnpike supports communities through charitable giving, employee volunteerism, sustainability initiatives and safety awareness programs. From growing fresh vegetables in the Giving Garden to organizing fundraising events and disaster relief drives, employees are dedicated to creating a positive local impact.
What is the Giving Garden, and who does it benefit?
The Giving Garden is a PA Turnpike initiative where employee volunteers grow fresh vegetables for local food banks and people in need. In 2024 alone, the garden yielded over 1,100 pounds of produce, reinforcing the organization’s commitment to food security and community care.
What sustainability efforts is the PA Turnpike involved in?
The PA Turnpike aims to become the first sustainable highway by 2040. Initiatives include solar microgrids, fiber broadband installation, electric vehicle (EV) chargers, pollinator habitats and composting programs. These efforts align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
How is the Turnpike raising awareness about human trafficking?
In partnership with Pennsylvania State Police and the YWCA, the PA Turnpike’s Human Trafficking Awareness campaign includes employee training and signage along the roadway urging motorists to call *11 if they suspect trafficking. These efforts aim to identify and assist victims who may be traveling the Turnpike.
What is the PA Turnpike doing to improve safety for highway responders?
The Turnpike hosts public events like the National Move Over Law Awareness Festival to educate drivers on how to protect incident responders. It also promotes safety campaigns and works with partners like TIM Heroes and the Tyler Laudenslager Foundation to raise awareness and foster safer roadways.