Kanjorski Strongly Urges U.S. Transportation Secretary to Reject I-80 Tolling Application

By THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN PAUL KANJORSKI (D-11)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) sent a strong letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood where the Congressman expressed his deep concerns about the potential for tolling on I-80 and requested that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reject the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s (PTC) application to place tolls on I-80. Congressman Kanjorski has continued to vocally pressure Secretary LaHood to reject the application.

“Placing tolls on I-80 would cause serious problems for businesses, commuters, and residents in Northeastern Pennsylvania, only increasing their costs and discouraging businesses from coming to or staying in the area,” said Congressman Kanjorski. “Such actions would dramatically discriminate against Northeastern Pennsylvanians by asking them to pay a disproportionate share of the cost for a statewide problem. Especially during these difficult economic times, many people are struggling financially, and we must implement policies that will benefit all Pennsylvanians. Tolling on I-80 would do just the opposite.

“Additionally, tolling should be an action of last resort if there are not any other options for funding available, but this is not the case. Rather, many alternatives are still on the table, but instead of seriously considering them, PennDOT and the PTC would prefer to essentially tax Northern Pennsylvania to solve the state’s transportation budget problems. This is unfair.”

Since 2007, Congressman Kanjorski has sent multiple letters to the DOT and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) stating his opposition to tolling on I-80 and urging them to reject the PTC and PennDOT’s applications. During that time, the PTC and PennDOT have submitted three applications. The DOT rejected the first two applications and it is in the process of considering the third one.

In December, Congressman Kanjorski organized a meeting for Members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation, as well as Members of the State Legislature to meet with FHWA Deputy Administrator Greg Nadeau to express their concerns about potential tolling on I-80. On November 19, Congressman Kanjorski and other Members had an initial meeting with Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. Additionally, in October, Congressman Kanjorski personally spoke with Secretary LaHood and expressed his continued opposition to tolling on I-80 and urged the Secretary to reject the state’s application.

The text of letter from Congressman Kanjorski to Secretary LaHood from January 13 follows:

Dear Secretary LaHood:

The purpose of this letter is to voice my strong opposition to the latest supplemental information to the Phase 1 Application submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) to convert Interstate 80 to a toll facility under the United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program (ISRRPP). Thank you in advance for consideration of my views.

As we discussed while traveling to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport last October, the Pennsylvania State Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law, Act 44 in July 2007. This legislation was passed in response to the findings of the Governor’s Transportation Funding and Reform Commission. As per the Governor’s Executive Order, the Commission was directed to examine the funding crisis throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Commission found that additional revenue is needed to address the Commonwealth’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure. In order to finance the projects needed to improve the Commonwealth’s highways and bridges, the Commission recommended an increase in the State gas tax of 11.5 cents.

It is my understanding that the Commission was not tasked with specifically determining the long-term needs of Interstate 80. Nevertheless, through the enactment of Act 44, the Governor and Legislature did not follow the Commission’s recommendation. The Governor and Legislature instead decided to increase the tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and directed PennDOT and the PTC to attempt to convert Interstate 80 to a toll facility under the ISRRPP. To date, no state has successfully converted an Interstate to a toll road using the ISRRPP.

The ISRRPP states that the DOT Secretary may permit a State to collect tolls for the purposes of reconstructing and rehabilitating Interstate highway corridors that could not otherwise be adequately maintained without the collection of tolls. From my perspective, the latest supplemental information submitted by PennDOT and the PTC makes it clear that the focus of tolling Interstate 80 is not to maintain the roadway but rather to use the tolling revenue to supplement funding for transportation projects throughout the Commonwealth.

The application states “Tolling I-80 removes approximately one-quarter of Pennsylvania’s Interstate System from PennDOT’s traditional financial responsibilities, thus allowing those resources to be used on other Interstate needs.” Furthermore, PennDOT and the PTC also state “The tolling of I-80 will ensure that 311 miles of Interstate highway will be self financed, freeing up Motor License fund moneys currently spent on I-80 capital projects and maintenance for application to other highway needs.”

These statements indicate to me that PennDOT and PTC are attempting to use the ISRRPP to levy an additional tax on Northern Pennsylvania commuters and commercial travelers to pay for transportation projects throughout the Commonwealth. All residents and businesses in the Commonwealth, not just the Northern tier of the State, should share the burden of paying for the improvement of the Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure.

In addition, until Act 44 was passed, the Commonwealth did not appear to consider Interstate 80 a liability. In fact, a study conducted by PennDOT in 2005, recommended that the Commonwealth not toll Interstate 80. This study stated that the annual cost of maintaining the interstate “is no longer an abnormal drain on PennDOT’s budget.”

It is my understanding that at this particular stage of the application evaluation process, the DOT is only considering if the application meets the statute’s requirements. However, I strongly feel we cannot ignore the economic impact that tolling would have on the local economy. The country is currently recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Many small and large businesses who utilize Interstate 80 to ship their products have contacted me to express their concern about the impacts tolling would have on them. As an example, one major employer in my Congressional District estimates that tolling will increase its costs of doing business by $1 million. Tolling Interstate 80 will almost guarantee that businesses have to cut jobs in order to stay in businesses. This will have a devastating impact on an area where the unemployment rate is already higher than the State average.

As a result of these issues, I continue to oppose the plans approved by the Governor and Legislature to tax commuters in Northern Pennsylvania by converting Interstate 80 to a toll road. From my perspective, the current application submitted by PennDOT and the PTC does not meet the legal requirements of the ISRRPP and urge you to reject the application outright.

Finally, I would like to thank you for making your staff available to discuss this important matter on two separate occasions. I appreciate Administrator Mendez personally briefing the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation and Deputy Administrator Nadeau taking the time to meet with several Members of the Pennsylvania Legislature.

Thank you in advance for consideration of my views.

Sincerely,

Paul E. Kanjorski

Member of Congress

CC: The Honorable Victor M. Mendez, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration

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