Penn Pike submits more to Feds to toll I-80 - too late, No on way

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) has filed an Addendum to their July 17 application for federal permission to toll I-80. The new papers report on meetings with local planning officials and the public along the route of the interstate. They also contain some interesting presentations and study work. But from what we're hearing here in the Washington DC area it's too late. The answer will be No - see the end of this report.

But back to the hard news. The addendum has an introductory letter jointly signed by state secretary of transportation Allen Biehler and Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier.

They say their tolling scheme proposal was substantially revised to take account of issues raised by local people. This is a reference to their recent proposal to allow free passage for cars with E-ZPass transponder accounts past the first toll point on any trip, encouraging shorter trips to use the tolled interstate.

The financial impact of free first toll passes, they say, is minimal since their previous financial projections assumed these short trips would use local roads rather than pay the toll.

The letter emphasizes what toll revenues will do for improvement of I-80 - as it must to be seen to conform to the legal words of the Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program. The whole rationale for that is the use of toll revenues for the corridor being tolled.

The letter emphasizes investments in I-80: "A detailed plan has been prepared to reconstruct the entire length of I-80 over the term of the lease."

It makes mention of the RFP for system integrators to install the all-electronic toll system, and says that the Commission is "poised" to contract engineering work on the first phase of improvements.

Brimmeier and Biehler also say that the I-80 tolling plan "comports with the Administration's position for Direct Pricing of Road Use." They say I-80 could serve as a pilot project to demonstrate to the Congress the broader potential of this approach.

The PTC is working toward having tolls collected from August 2010 onward.

The plan presented to FHWA provides for an average $250m spending in the corridor each year for the first ten years of the Commission's 50 year lease.

Toll plan details

The body of the addendum says that the PTC traffic consultants (Wilbur Smith) estimate that 60% to 80% of private trips will pass none or only one toll point and therefore pay no toll. The call their no-toll due until the second toll point is passed an "Incentive Program."

The PTC say in their Addendum still haven't decided if longer distance trips will be allowed the first toll point pass free. However a WSA Preliminary I-80 Toll System, Rates and Diversion Analysis report by WSA suggests passenger vehicles with an E-ZPass account will pay tolling points passed minus one. They say 70% of private car trips on I-80 will pay no toll as a result.

WSA say the major longdistance diversion from the imposition of tolls will be from I-80 to I-76/276, the Turnpike East-West Mainline.

"Current diversion to I-80 from the Turnpike occurs for two major movements. The first is for the longer distance trips traveling the entire length of the state. These might be trips from central New Jersey and south, for example, that would actually have a shorter trip by using the Turnpike, but choose to travel the additional distance to use a toll free I-80. The second component includes trips that currently use the Pennsylvania Turnpike for a portion of their trip and then use US322 (near Harrisburg) and travel northwest to I-80 for trips to Youngstown OH and west. The distance between these two routes is different by only about 10 miles. Once I-80 is tolled, those trips will most likely remain on the Turnpike (I-76/276)."

In the absence of tolls on I-80, the toll increases planned for the Turnpike (I-76/276) will substantially increase traffic and wear on I-80, WSA says.

The report also estimates shortdistance diversions. These vary greatly from place to place and will be affected by the specific toll point locations chosen.

WSA is also doing a freight analysis of the impact of tolls on different industries in the corridor.

The Addendum and associated documents are available online at this link:

http://www.paturnpike.com/I80/news/pressrelease_082808.aspx

The Feds decision next week?

Critics of the Commission see the timing of the Addendum filing as intended to delay a federal decision beyond the end of the next state legislative session.

We're hearing however that the Feds' decision is made, and it is a No.

The huge transfers of toll revenue in the form of annual rental from I-80 to PennDOT for use on programs outside the I-80 corridor are held to be contrary to the requirements in law of the Interstate Reconstruction and Rehabilitation program, making the plan ineligible.

All that remains to be done is work at FHWA on detailing the the rejection, and deciding how and when it will be announced.

Our sense is that Feds rejection will be made public within two weeks, perhaps within days.

They have had the revised PTC application six weeks now and it has been thoroughly examined at FHWA and USDOT. The Addendum contains some valuable new detail on PTC plans, but doesn't fundamentally change anything, so it is unlikely to delay the Feds.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-08-29