by KYW's Tony Romeo
Pennsylvania Governor Rendell says he believes the state will win federal approval of its request to impose tolls on Interstate 80 - a key part of the plan to provide long-term, stable funding for roads and mass transit in Pennsylvania (see related story).
During a Friday appearance on WHYY’s “Radio Times” program, Governor Rendell said that despite previous rejection, he believes the feds will allow I-80 to be included in a pilot program which allows three interstate highways to be tolled, and he insisted the impact on Pennsylvanians who use the road for local travel will be minimal:
“We’ve applied again for the third federal slot and I think this time we’re going to get it. And again, people don’t listen. What we’ve done is we’ve created a system where if you’re a Pennsylvanian and you’re going to see your grandmother on I-80, you get essentially 65 to 70 free miles.”
The governor says Pennsylvania is a huge “pass through” state, with people driving through while traveling from the east coast to points west, and vice-versa, and he says the state needs to capture that revenue.
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