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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Joseph F. Markosek
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Pennsylvania representatives urge tolling of I-80 in letter to LaHood
HARRISBURG, Dec. 18 – A letter supporting tolling Interstate 80 signed by 27 Pennsylvania state representatives was sent this week to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
"The letter outlines the reasons why Pennsylvania has to toll Interstate 80 and shows support for the plan from representatives throughout the Commonwealth," said House Transportation Committee Chairman Joseph Markosek, D-Allegheny/Westmorland. "We are confident the federal Highway Administration will make a decision based on the law and allow Pennsylvania to fill the gaping shortfall in its transportation budget."
Act 44 was approved by the General Assembly in 2007 with a bipartisan vote and signed into law by the governor. The law called for an increase in tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the tolling of I-80. The increase in tolls is providing an extra $900 million this year to fund work in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, bringing the total since Act 44 was enacted to $2.5 billion.
If tolling is approved, that figure will increase by 2.5 percent per year. If not, it will drop to $450 million.
"Tolling I-80 is a critical component of Act 44," Markosek said. "The stakes here are enormous. We need the revenue to repair and replace our interstates, which were built during the Eisenhower administration."
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