Federal Highway Administration returns PA application for tolling approval,
citing discrepancies and insufficient information
Rep. Rick Geist (R-Altoona), Republican Chairman of the State House
Transportation Committee, today said that the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA)
return of Pennsylvania’s application for federal authorization to toll
Interstate 80 is “a major roadblock” for the plan submitted by the Pennsylvania
Turnpike Commission and the Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
“Yesterday’s notification by the FHWA validates the serious concerns and
reservations I and others in the General Assembly have had all along regarding
the application itself and the tolling plan that it seeks to authorize,” Geist
said. “It is crystal clear that this application lacks basic information that
the federal government needs to render a decision on this issue.”
On Oct. 13, the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT submitted a joint application to
toll I-80 under the federal Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
Pilot Program (ISRRPP). The tolling proposal is the linchpin for Pennsylvania’s
newly minted transportation funding plan, enacted on July 18 as Act 44 of 2007.
Act 44 authorizes the Turnpike Commission to borrow up to $12 billion, with the
assumption that the federal government will grant Pennsylvania the authority to
toll Interstate 80.
That assumption is now more tenuous following the FHWA’s move yesterday. A
letter sent from FHWA’s Acting Division Administrator David Lawton to
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Allen Biehler included a memorandum
from the FHWA and an itemized list of additional items required to address the
eligibility of the proposal.
“At this time, the application does not contain all of the information required
for a Phase I provisional acceptance, as specified in our guidance, or a
conditional provisional approval,” Lawton said in the letter. “No slot in the
ISRRPP is reserved for your proposal.”
The FHWA also indicated that it has questions regarding the use of revenue that
would be generated from the tolling of I-80 for purposes other than the
maintenance or improvement of I-80, and regarding the structure of the 50-year
lease agreement between the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT.
The FHWA has recommended that the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT revise and
resubmit the application “if you intend to pursue this proposal further.”
Geist said the FHWA’s decision to return the application, albeit without
approval or denial, casts considerable doubt on the prospects for timely federal
approval of the I-80 tolling plan.
“Now more than ever, it is time to seriously explore an innovative and viable
alternative to our transportation infrastructure needs – public-private
partnerships,” Geist said. “Through these partnerships, private-sector capital
could be invested, with the interest earned being used exclusively to fund
transportation infrastructure needs well into the future. Projects could be
completed more quickly and more efficiently. Thousands of Pennsylvanians could
be put to work rebuilding the infrastructure. And future generations would not
be strapped by massive debt payments.”
Rep. Richard A. Geist
79th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(814) 946-7218
(717) 787-6419
Contact: Greg Grasa
ggrasa@pahousegop.com
(717) 772-3468
Member site:
WWW.RickGeist.com
www.pahousegop.com