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Turnpike Gets Even More Expensive

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Another year, another toll hike on the PA Turnpike. The upcoming boost will mark ten consecutive years of increases.

 
The rate increases are needed to cover the debt service on all the borrowing the Turnpike Commission has done and will continue to do to pay for its maintenance and construction requirements and to provide $450 million a year to PENNDOT. The $450 million is used to subsidize mass transit in the Commonwealth. As we noted in a recent Policy Brief, the Turnpike has already slid into a deep net negative net worth because of the bonds issued over the years. It will only get worse.

 
Moreover, the rise in toll rates will have some negative effect on Turnpike usage, especially on the lower demand roads. As our Policy Brief noted, traffic and revenue per mile on the Mon Fayette Expressway especially are a small fraction of the levels on the mainline road. Then too, the traffic on the Asa Hutchinson toll road and the Beaver Valley Expressway peaked years ago.

 
Compounding its financial situation, the Turnpike has very expensive employee benefits. Those benefits cost the Commission $50,000 per year per employee.

 
Unfortunately, the Turnpike’s financial woes will not begin to stop their slide until 2023 when the $450 million payment to PENNDOT is no longer required. By then the financial hole will be even deeper and the toll hikes may well continue for a long time. Using the Turnpike as a source of mass transit subsidy is very poor policy. On top of that, Legislation mandates a higher gasoline tax to be used to support Turnpike construction that cannot be justified on its own cost benefit merits–all very strange policies.

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Allegheny Institute
Allegheny Institute

The Allegheny Institute is a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is to defend the interests of taxpayers, citizens and businesses against an increasingly burdensome and intrusive government.

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