No Tolls for I-80

When the U.S. Department of Transportation made its decision against applying tolls on I-80, many of its users breathed a sigh of relief.
“We think it’s in the best interests of everyone that an existing interstate, which is being paid for, is not tolled,” says Jim Runk, President of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.
Governor Ed Rendell supported the tolls, since it would have made $922 million available by the beginning of the fiscal year to use toward bridge and road repairs. But Runk says the fairest way fund highway repairs and maintenance would be to raise the fuel tax.
“About 99 percent of the money that’s collected goes into the building or maintenance of highways, as opposed to about 20 to 25 percent if it was tolled it would go towards administration costs,” he says.
However, Rendell argues that it may be difficult to consider since some legislators are up for re-election.