I-80 Tolls Could Cause More Accidents, Increase Business Costs, Group Says

This story appears in the Oct. 19 print edition of Transport Topics.

A study released by a group opposed to tolling Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania found that tolls would not only raise the cost of doing business in the region, but likely would result in an increase in crashes as vehicles divert away from the highway.

In addition, the study found that users already pay enough to maintain the highway, making tolls unnecessary.

The study was conducted for the Coalition Against Tolling I-80 by Tracy Miller, an economics professor at Grove City College.

Besides trucking, the report said manufacturers of homes, wood products and transportation equipment were among those hurt by new tolls.

The tolls “may not seem large, [but] when combined together over all of the counties affected, the total costs are substantial.”

In another example, the report found that dairy farmers could see transportation costs for milk “increase almost 10% for farms that ship their milk at least 60 miles” on I-80.

“While it is not clear how many plants would shut down due to the impact of tolls on Interstate 80, one or more employers that are just barely surviving could find it unprofitable to continue to operate,” the report said. “The result would be that between a few hundred and a few thousand workers could lose their jobs.”

Beyond the economic concerns, the report also theorized that “if cars and trucks use alternative routes instead of I-80, injuries and fatalities will likely increase.”

Using a traffic study commissioned by the turnpike, Miller’s study found that “tolls on I-80 could cause an increase of between two and four deaths and between 100 and 200 injuries per year.”

Tolling I-80 is a key piece of the state’s multibillion-dollar transportation funding plan, Act 44, which passed in 2007.

Under the plan, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would be allowed to expand tolls to I-80 and in return would send more than $900 million annually to the state Department of Transportation.

However, late last year, the Federal Highway Administration deemed Pennsylvania’s initial application lacking and did not grant the state tolling authority under a federal pilot program.

Last month, state Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler told Transport Topics that Pennsylvania was nearing completion on its work to address FHWA’s concerns.

Carl DeFebo Jr., a spokesman for the turnpike commission, told TT that the agency expects to submit its supplemental applications in the next “two to four weeks.”

Turnpike Chief Executive Officer Joe Brimmeier said in a statement that the group would be weighing the concerns raised by the new report if the state’s application is approved.

“In the past two years, we’ve heard loud and clear that businesspeople and elected officials in the I-80 corridor are concerned about the effects of increased transportation costs, and I reassure them that we share those concerns,” he said. “Though we’ve not yet seen the study, our economic team will evaluate the data from the document and consider its conclusions if we receive federal authorization to proceed.”

Trucking groups remain opposed to the idea of tolling I-80.

“Tolling the highway will raise the cost of business and make the region less competitive,” said Darrin Roth, director of highway operations for American Trucking Associations.

Mike Joyce, a lobbyist with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the report “is a shot across the bow” of the turnpike commission and lawmakers in the state pushing the toll plan.

DeFebo said any decisions on where to locate toll collection sites and toll rates would be done to minimize diversion.

“We want the traffic that’s on I-80 today to stay on I-80 if it is tolled,” he said.

The study also found that trucks using I-80 already pay more than $90 million in various state fuel and other taxes, while cars pay more than $40 million.

“By comparison,” the study said, “when the PTC applied for tolling authority, PennDOT’s annual spending to operate and maintain I-80 averaged $80 million per year.”

Using the revenue from tolls to finance borrowing for other projects is something that should not be allowed, said Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.).

“That’s not the way the federal law works,” said Thompson, who has introduced federal legislation to bar tolls on I-80.

“Borrowing against anticipated toll revenues is reckless, especially when the plan has already been rejected by the Federal Highway Administration,” Thompson said in a statement.