Pennsylvania Toll Road Plan Hits Wall

17 December 2007 - 9:00am

Plans to convert a 311-mile section of Pennsylvania's Interstate 80 have been dealt a severe setback by the federal government, which recently returned the state's application.

"The Federal Highway Administration returned the state's application Wednesday, without either approving or denying it, but with a series of pointed questions about why the state felt it necessary to put tolls on the 311-mile section of I-80 from Ohio to New Jersey."

"The state wants to place tolls on I-80 to help raise money to fund statewide highway and bridge repairs and as part of a broader plan to fund mass-transit agencies. If it receives federal approval, the state hopes to have tolls in place by 2010."

"If the federal government does not permit tolls on I-80, SEPTA and other mass-transit agencies will get $150 million a year less than promised, and highways and bridges will get $300 million a year less - a cut of 50 percent by 2010."

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 2007
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Does smart growth measure up? Not across the board.