Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski Released the Following Statement on the I-80 Toll Issue:

"According to the Federal Highway Administration, Pennsylvania has the third highest number of highways by mile among the fifty states.  Numerous manufacturers transport their products over these highways to our neighboring states and beyond; as the Keystone State, Pennsylvania is well-located to provide easy access to the eastern United States markets.  Our transportation infrastructure is a key element of Pennsylvania's economic vitality.    

"However, many of the roads and bridges of Pennsylvania are in desperate need of serious repair.  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, we need nearly $1 billion more per year to fix a backlog of nearly 6,000 bridges that are structurally deficient and more than 8,500 miles of roads that are in poor condition.  As the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis tragically demonstrated this week, we cannot afford to further defer addressing this problem.  We need to solve this problem, not politicize it.

"The real issue is how Pennsylvania should pay for its portion of the maintenance expenses for our roads and bridges.  After much difficult negotiating, Governor Rendell and the Pennsylvania Legislature reached a compromise that would generate an average of $946 million annually over the next ten years to repair roads and bridges and support 73 public transit systems. 

"It is incumbent upon opponents of this plan to offer a better alternative and thus far they have failed to do so.  As a state legislator recently observed, the legislators thought tolling I-80 was a bad idea, but all ‘the others were worse.' 

"When raising revenues to pay for government services, I believe that it is most fair to have the users of those services pay whenever possible.  It is my understanding that 80% of the users of Interstate 80 are drivers from other states who do not currently contribute to the costs of maintaining that highway.  Tolls would therefore provide a mechanism to collect some payment from the users of the highway.  It is my hope that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will work with the companies and residents who utilize I-80 to minimize the expense of using that highway for local travel. 

"Tolls and taxes are never popular, and I would prefer to find an alternative for funding Pennsylvania's highways without establishing tolls on I-80.  However, I believe that the federal government should respect the decisions made by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."