U.S. nixes Rendell plan to toll I-80

By rejecting Pennsylvania's proposal to put toll booths on Interstate 80, the U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday delivered a crushing blow to SEPTA's $100 million plan for a new smart-card fare system, its $100 million reconstruction of the City Hall station and $450 million in other major capital projects.

SEPTA emphasized that while the federal rejection threatens capital improvements, it does not affect the transit agency's fiscal 2011 operating budget, which calls for no service cuts and an average 6 percent fare hike throughout the system.

According to Gov. Rendell, the state's inability to toll I-80 will cut funding for roads and bridges by roughly $300 million annually, which will mean that PennDOT will repair 100 fewer bridges and 300 fewer miles of road every year.

Pointing out that Pennsylvania has 5,600 structurallydeficient bridges - more than any state in the country - and 6,000 miles of roads in need of repair, Rendell said he would call a special session of the Legislature to address the funding crisis.

"The people of Pennsylvania understand there is no free ride," Rendell said.

"People understand that if they want safe bridges, good roads, and potholes eliminated, you cannot wait for the pothole fairy to do it. You've got to pay for it."

Recalling the deadly 2007 I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis and the catastrophic failure of flood walls during Hurricane Katrina, Rendell called the toll rejection "a dire situation with significant consequences."

The federal rejection was based on the legal interpretation that putting tolls on an interstate highway can be used only to maintain that highway.

Rendell argued the contrary in a recent meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Despite yesterday's rejection, said Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma, the governor thinks that within two years, the federal government will allow an interstate highway's tolls to be used for vital infrastructure repairs throughout the state.