Transportation plan needs another look

State lawmakers should exit off the route toward tolling Interstate 80 and look for other avenues to fund transportation.

Many state lawmakers thought in July that they found the road to Easyville by passing Act 44, which calls for about $946 million annually in new transportation spending. Of that total, $532 million would go for roads and bridges, with state transit agencies getting the rest.

New tolls on I-80 and higher tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are supposed to pick up the tab.

But lawmakers are finding the road to tolling I-80 is bumpier than they envisioned. A number of local, state and federal officials — especially those representing areas along the highway — are objecting to the tolling plan.

U.S. Reps. John Peterson, R-5th District, and Phil English, R-3rd District, have introduced federal legislation that, if passed, effectively could stop the tolling of I-80.

Weis Markets Inc. says it will have to pass on the cost of the new tolls to customers.

Concerns also have been raised about the potential impact on economic development of tolling I-80. Peterson says Pennsylvania would be the only state in the nation with both of its major east-west highways as toll roads. This could discourage companies from setting up distribution centers in the state.

That’s troubling because some of the recent growth along the Interstate 99 corridor has come from distribution centers, including Wal-Mart, Sheetz and Recreation Equipment Inc. Those facilities are bringing needed jobs to the area.

Out of concern that Act 44 could be overturned or stymied, Gov. Ed Rendell earlier this month asked private entities to bid on the right to lease the Turnpike. Those proposals are due Monday, and Rendell has said if the amounts are high enough, he will take them to the Legislature. It’s something lawmakers should consider.

The idea of leasing the Turnpike initially was panned by Pennsylvanians. But that was before the decision was made to make I-80 a toll road and to increase Turnpike fares 25 percent in 2009 and 3 percent per year after that. Those realities might make a lease more palatable to residents now.

Another matter deserving of another look is the amount of debt the Turnpike Commission is taking on to provide the initial funding under Act 44. State lawmakers borrowed a page from credit card companies. Their splurge now, pay later strategy calls for the Turnpike Commission to borrow more than $13 billion to provide the promised transportation funding until the new tolls kick in.

While the state has started down the Act 44 road by accepting a $62.5 million payment in August from the Turnpike Commission, it’s not too late to turn around.

But the longer legislators wait, the harder it will be. The Turnpike Commission’s next payment is due at the end of October, and by the end of fiscal year 2008, the agency will have handed over $750 million. If the state’s going to change directions, it should act quickly.

State officials stepped on the gas in July to pass Act 44 in order to reach a budget deal. It’s time to hit the brakes and look again at whether this truly is the best route for Pennsylvania.