The Feds Deny Rendell's I-80 Tolling Application

Last week the Federal Highway Administration soundly rejected Governor Rendell's plan that would allow Pennsylvania to toll Interstate 80. Governor Rendell and other legislative leaders were counting on revenue generated by the tolling plan to pay for increases in mass transit funding in Philadelphia along with other highway and bridge projects. The Federal Highway Administration denied the application on the grounds that the revenue should only be used for maintaining Interstate 80.

If tolls on I-80 would have been used to keep that roadway updated, we, and probably many others, would have wholeheartedly supported it.

But instead of placing tolls on I-80 to help improve that roadway, Rendell preferred to attempt a $450 million-per-year stickup. That's what tolls on I-80 were expected to produce on a yearly basis.

And how much of that money would have been spent on that I-80? Approximately $50 million. (The Observer-Reporter)

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It sure is refreshing to see that the Federal Highway Administration actually looked at the original intent of Rendell's application and saw it for what it really was. The real motive for tolling Interstate 80 was to simply generate more revenue for state spending. Something the tolling of federal highways should never be used for.