Randy Griffith
The Tribune-Democrat
JOHNSTOWN —
The anticipated annual loss of $472 million caused by the federal government’s denial to toll Interstate 80 likely will have little impact on regional bridge and highway projects planned for 2010.
But no one Wednesday was making predictions beyond the current construction year.
“We’re still assessing it, but this is a serious loss of resources,” said Rich Kirkpatrick, PennDOT spokesman in Harrisburg. “This will have a serious impact.”
Assessments show the revenue shortfall would translate into $7 million less for bridges and highways in Cambria County from 2011 to 2014.
The four counties making up the Rural Transportation Technical Committee, which includes Somerset, stand to see a combined loss of revenue of more than $15 million over four years, said Fred Querry of the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission.
PennDOT officials at the state and local level are not discussing which bridge and highway projects will have to be shelved in coming years if other funding sources are not identified.
“We are still assessing local impact,” PennDOT spokeswoman Tara Callahan-Henry wrote in an e-mail Wednesday.
Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to convene a special legislative session to look for ways to fill the revenue shortfall, but local legislators doubt any significant action will happen this year – an election year.
“They might start talking, put some bills forth, but I don’t expect anything before January,” said state Rep. Gary Haluska, D-Patton, a member of the House Transportation Committee.
In all likelihood, there will be a push to fill the revenue shortfall by increasing fees Pennsylvanians pay for driver’s licenses and vehicle registration. Part of the package also could be increasing oil franchise taxes and taxes paid at the pumps, Haluska said.
Getting any increases through the House may be a minor challenge compared to similar action in the state Senate, which has opposed any increased fees or taxes for bridges and highways, he said.
State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, whose district touches the I-80 corridor, thinks any alternate revenue package will gain support from leaders in both parties.
“The importance of our highway system is realized across the board,” he said.
Increasing the gasoline tax alone, something that has not been done in 13 years, would take an estimated hike of 12 cents per gallon to cover the revenue shortfall, Wozniak said.
“I don’t see that happening. We’re going to have to retrench,” he said.
Part of the process needs to include a House hearing with the state Transportation Commission, the panel that determines priorities and approves projects for PennDOT’s 12-year plan, said state Rep. Bryan Barbin, D-Westmont.
“We have less money to spend. The first thing we should discuss is what we should fund, because we can’t fund all of the projects,” Barbin said. “We have to set up priorities. You’ve got to live within your means.”
Any new revenue-generating proposal will be the third attempt to provide funding for the transportation system, legislators said Wednesday.
Plan A was the proposal to sell or lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike, an effort defeated by the state legislators, while Plan B was I-80 tolling.
One area in need of assessment is the money spent on mass transit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, said state Rep. Carl Metzger, R-Berlin.
“We need to reassess why such a significant amount of our transportation money is going to subsidize empty buses,” he said. “That’s where we’re hemorrhaging money.”
Callahan-Henry said revenue from I-80 would have provided $312.5 million to fund work on 100 bridges and 300 miles of roadway annually.
It also would have provided $160 million a year to support mass transit.
