CLEARFIELD – With the possibility of Interstate 80 being becoming a toll road two of the Clearfield County Commissioners sat with GantDaily to discuss the topic on last Friday.
The topic of tolling I-80 came out of a transportation study that was conducted across the state a few years ago. The Act 44 legislation is the result of a study that was done on the transportation crisis in Pennsylvania. That study looked at ways the problems facing roads, highways, bridges and mass transportation as well as ways to possibly solve those problems.
Act 44 authorizes a 50 year partnership between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and PennDOT. The PTC would in essence lease I-80 from PennDOT, paying PennDOT an estimated $1.67 billion per year. That money would be used to fund road and bridge rehabilitation across the state. Money from the Pennsylvania Turnpike is currently being designated to help fund the public transportation crisis. Money from this project would go toward road and bridge maintenance.
The Federal Highway Administration has nixed the project twice. It’s now on its third go-around with the FHWA.
Recently U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson said a decision is pending on the latest submission.
“I think it’s very important that Secretary LaHood deny this application,” said Commissioner Chairman John Sobel.
“Right now, the important decision is what the federal government and Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood decide to do with the current application to toll I-80,” said Commissioner Mark McCrakcen. He was unable to attend the sit-down on Friday but did reply through e-mail.
McCracken continued, “We’ve been told that federal officials including Representatives in the US Congress Glenn Thompson, Paul Kanjorski, Chris Carney and Kathy Dahlkemper have meet with Sec. LaHood to request that Obama administration reject the application to toll I-80. Hopefully with the information they’ve provided along with other factual evidence, a final decision to deny the application will be coming soon.”
Sobel and Commissioner Joan Robinson McMillen called on citizens to voice their disdain of the proposal.
“It’s been such long process that people tend to get complacent,” said McMillen.
They asked citizens to write and question their state and federal lawmakers on the subject.
“This is an election year,” said McMillen. “These are questions we need to ask candidates in both parties.
“It’s something upcoming candidates need to be asked by voters.”
The commissioners acknowledged that Thompson and state Rep. Matt Gabler have been tenacious opponents of the proposal. They also indicated that if the other two state senators opposed it, the opposition movement would have more teeth.
The commissioners also talked about the economic impact tolling could have on Clearfield County.
“Clearfield County, for the first time in a long time, can grow economically as an energy production center,” said Sobel. He added that tolling I-80 would only hurt hat potential growth.
“Whether it’s coal, wind … ethanol, they all rely on trucking,” commented Sobel. “If you toll I-80, you’re creating an obstacle.
“Common sense dictates you don’t do it.”
“As commissioners we can market the county, but if a road suddenly becomes tolled, our jobs are twice as hard,” said McMillen.
She noted that it’s more costly to run a business these days and that tolling would not help the situation. Sobel added that additional expenses businesses would see from tolling would ultimately be passed off to consumers.
“The last thing they (consumers) need is another increase,” sais Sobel.
Sobel and McMillen said that counties along I-80 have unified in the fight against tolling I-80. They said that senators and representatives from outside the I-80 corridor have also voiced their disapproval of the plan.
The commissioners were unified in their disapproval of Act 44.
“Even if the current application from the Rendell administration and the Turnpike Commission is denied, the communities, businesses and political leaders along the I-80 corridor need to be looking towards the future on the issue of tolling,” said McCracken. “Specifically, we need to get a definitive answer from all the remaining candidates running for governor – are they for or against tolling of I-80? If a candidate is in anyway supportive of the tolling option, this will continue to be an issue into the future. It would be my hope that the next governor is opposed to tolling I-80.
“We also need to see the legislature repeal the portions of Act 44 that authorize the Turnpike Commission to toll I-80,” said McCracken. “As long as Act 44 remains law, the Turnpike Commission has the legal authority to apply with the federal government to impose tolls on Interstate 80.”
“Act 44 was created in haste behind closed doors,” McMillen said in an LTE. “From the time it was passed until it was signed into law only one month passed. That is almost unheard of in the government bureaucracy. Not one single public hearing was held until after the fact. Both Representative George and Surra voted to toll I-80. In the Senate Joseph Scarnati and Don White also voted to toll I-80.
“The numbers you need are Rep Camille George 378-6279; Sen. Don White 236-1520; and Sen. Joe Scarnati 265-2030. Tell them to vote to represent the best interest of those who elected them.”
“The people along the I-80 corridor were not included to the extent that they should have been,” McMillen added on Friday.
“I perceive Act 44 as a vampire,” said Sobel. “If you don’t kill it, it’s going to come back to haunt you.