GOP bill proposes tolls on I-79, other highways in Pa.

[spinbaby]

"And House Republicans unveiled their own competing proposal to pump more money into the state's crumbling highways and bridges and its struggling mass-transit agencies by adding tolls to Interstates 78, 79, 80, 81 and 95."

http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/06_21_PA_STATE_BUDGET

[jsamuel]

1. just one step closer to privatizing the highways and interstates

[sabbat hunter]

5. toll roads

are everywhere, they are NOT the equivalent of private roads. toll roads have tolls which are used for the public good for the upkeep of the roads.

privatized roads that charge fees line the pockets of the 'owners' of the roads

[jsamuel]

8. new tolls are being applied by lane

so the right lane is free and the left lane costs $5 per trip. This way all the rich people can drive in the left lane and get there in 10 min while the poor are stuck in a traffic jam for an hour every day. It is already being done in MN. While I recognize that tolls are not privatization, tolls are a step closer. (Edit: see Robbien's comment 9 below)

[Robbien]

9. You cannot sell a road to a private fund unless the road is a toll road

So yes, turning a regular public road into a toll road is the first step to privatizing.

Privateers are only interested in revenue producing enterprises.

[WinkyDink]

21. I don't think so; it's Democrat RENDELL who seeks privatization.

Much as I love Big Ed---and I've met him several times---he's NUTS on this issue.

[Ezlivin]

2. "State's crumbling highways and bridges"

While we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars overseas our own infrastructure is crumbling.

And the solution is more taxes? How about spending what you've got wisely?

[JVS]

3. NOOOOOOO!

[LiberalEsto]

4. So we'll have a two-caste road system

one for the rich
one for the rest of us

[spinbaby]

6. I think you're right

I've been noticing lately how many of the changes of the Bush years have made it more difficult to travel--more passport requirements, higher gas prices, fewer flights, more toll roads, TSA, etc. It's a sure bet the rich can still travel comfortably and conveniently.

[Marnieworld]

19. except it was already that way

The PA turnpike was the rich road and the interstates were for everyone else. Now just rich roads. Boy I hope this doesn't pass.

[TwilightGardener]

7. As a former frequent flier on I-79, my condolences to my fellow Pennsylvanians.

Although I will say that 79 was ALWAYS in terrible shape. As with most of the roads in PA--worst roads in the country, and I've lived all over.

[John1956PA]

14. In the 1990s, I-79's concrete surface was removed and it was replaced by an asphalt surface.

The asphalt has held up well for the past 10 years or more. Even though I am only an occasional traveler on the interstate, I dislike the plan of making it into a toll road.

[TwilightGardener]

20. Good to hear--I haven't lived in PA in many years, so I'm going on memory.

[KansDem]

10. I think I'll invest in a second-hand ferry and take up position at some point...

...where crossing a river is advantageous to motorists who may not want to drive several miles to the state-owned and maintained bridge. You know, one of those little ferries that can hold just a few cars. Then I'll call this point "KansDems Ferry."

I want to look like I just stepped out of a George Caleb Bingham painting:

PAY UP!!! Or you won't see the other side!

YAAAAAHooooo I'd look fantastic in buckskin!

[MiniMe]

11. Hmmm, 95 doesn't go through Pennsylvania

That would be a good trick for them to do.

[spinbaby]

12. Goes through Philadelphia n/t

[MiniMe]

13. Is that an offshoot of 95? I live in Maryland and have driven many times to New Jersey

The route I know goes up through Delaware and then on to New Jersey. It comes close to Philly, but does not go through it. Interesting.

[KamaAina]

15. The NJ Turnpike in South Jersey is not I-95

no one follows 95 north from DE through PA to go north because the connections into NJ are horrendous (in fact, may still not even be completed).

[WinkyDink]

22. 95 goes right through Philadelphia.

http://www.pennways.com/I95_PA_NE_Phil.html

[KamaAina]

16. Since when can you slap tolls on interstates?

Way back when, the only way an interstate could be toll is if it had been grandfathered into the interstate system (e.g. Pennsylvania Turnpike became I-76), or if it crossed a toll bridge (e.g. George Washington Bridge carries I-95). Any new interstates had to be free (or, rather, taxpayer-subsidized). When did the repukes do away with this? :eyes:

[Marnieworld]

17. That would so suck if they add tolls to 78

It's such a used road, a major artery for the region. My hubby will be pissed!

[TommyO]

24. Not sure where you are on I-78, but making that a toll road will cripple Rt 22.

running through the Lehigh Valley. If all of I-78 becomes toll, from the Delaware River to where it joins up with I-81, you'll see plenty of people detouring through Phillipbsburg and taking 22 through the valley to skip at least part of the toll.

I support most of what Rendell has done/is doing, but this proposal is absolutely ridiculous!

[SteelPenguin]

18. I'm of mixed feelings about this

PA roads like many places in the northeast suffer from far more damage because of weather than roads say in the southwest do. The frost and buckling damages roads here far quicker than in many other areas of the country. Then piled on top of that are the fact that the PA Turnpike (I76), 95, and 80 are some of the most highly truck trafficed roads in the country going to and from the northeast, and New York City to points west and back. The damage these trucks do to the roads is tremendous, and many of them just fly across the state without even stopping for gas.

Why should the PA taxpayer have to bear the full burden?

I think making them toll roads is good for truck traffic who cause a large portion of the damage.

Of course when they threatened to drive up the tolls on the turnpike the truck drivers said they'd just drive on the state highways instead of the toll roads, which would be even more dangerous to the people living along those roads.

It's a complicated issue. I definately don't think they should be privatized, but I don't have a problem with getting the people who actually do the damage to the roads share in the costs of it's upkeep.

[onethatcares]

23. I'm originally from Reading and

whenever I have to go back I'm amazed that 422/222/183/61 and the hell with the interstates haven't been worked on since they were built. I guess once the factories closed there weren't enough tax dollars left to fix anything but potholes.

[defendandprotect]

25. One step closer to the GOP's "Third World America" --

Yeah -- gradually, even our Garden State Parkway now has potholes that don't get fixed.
Various debris can also be found in the lanes, unespectedly -- from chairs to dead animals.