HARRISBURG, Pa. — A prominent highway construction trade association on Wednesday, March 24, came out against a state plan to toll up to nine major bridges around Pennsylvania in need of repairs as lawmakers move to block the plan. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s top transportation official disputed the trade association’s criticisms.
The Associated Pennsylvania Constructors generally supports tolling to underwrite transportation projects, but the organization’s executive vice president, Robert Latham, told the House Transportation Committee that the cost of private financing would drive up project costs.
Latham also said relying on tolling to cover construction costs is risky.
However, Transportation Secretary Yassmin Gramian said she expects the projects to be financed with lower-cost municipal bonds under a federal program. In addition, financing the reconstruction projects isn’t as risky as financing a new bridge project because studies show that the bridges have stable daily traffic flows.
The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association also opposes the proposed tolls.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Senate is advancing legislation to require the Legislature’s approval of any proposed transportation project with a user fee.
Gramian has said the tolls are necessary because PennDOT has less than half the cash it needs to keep Pennsylvania’s highways and bridges in good condition and ease major traffic bottlenecks. Borrowing the money against existing revenue would take money away from other construction projects, she has said.
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The state of PA already has some of the highest gas and fuel tax’s in the country.The price of licence plates and title transfers are criminal just like the politicians running this state.There is no reason to have a money problem other than the fact that they have a spending problem and a few with sticky fingers in the bunch.You know how it works 1 for the roads and 2 for my pocket.They all need voted out and start ove
And they give half the gas diesel tax to the railroads ,we know are already funded by govenment hwy use tax 550 per truck per year. Fuel tax at 84 cents per gallon for the roads why do we need more taxes quit giving your self raipolitician’s