Pa. Turnpike hitting brakes on projects and spending

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit Pennsylvania nine weeks ago, traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike has dropped by 50%, amounting to more than 20 million fewer vehicles.

Fewer drivers means less toll revenue to pay for highway improvements and transit operations.

Toll revenue on the 552-mile highway already has gone down by nearly $150 million in the last two months, officials said.

“The Turnpike Commission, like other businesses and agencies, has experienced a significant financial

impact triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mark Compton, commission CEO, testified Tuesday in a virtual hearing before the state Senate’s transportation committee.

Compton said the commission is preparing for as much as a $400 million to $500 million revenue loss by the end of the pandemic.

The toll revenue began to drop the week of March 8, with a 7% decline.

The week of March 15, when Gov. Tom Wolf issued a stay-at-home order for nonessential businesses, the revenue dropped by 26%.

The state-at-home order remains in effect until June 4 for counties in a red zone, which includes southern and eastern Pennsylvania.

The stay-at-home order has resulted in less commuter traffic on the turnpike because most workers are telecommuting.

“People are staying in their homes,” said Carl DeFebo Jr., turnpike spokesman. “We are seeing very little commuter traffic. The traffic is mostly commercial.”

Tractor-trailers are still traveling the turnpike to transport food and other essential items.

“We would like to see the traffic getting back to normal, but we don’t want to see people risking their lives,” DeFebo said.

As the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths began to increase, the number of motorists on the highway and the revenues generated by tolls steadily decreased.

The first week of March, more than 3.8 million motorists drove on the turnpike.

The number of drivers dipped to as low as 1.4 million the week of April 5.

The revenue was at $23 million the first week of March, dropping to $11.3 million the week of April 5.

The picture, however, is beginning to show signs of improvement in the first week of May. From May 3 to 9, revenue increased to $13.8 million, with the number of drivers topping 2 million.

As a result of the revenue losses, the turnpike will be unable to make its July payment to PennDOT to fund transit systems.

Pennsylvania law requires the Turnpike Commission to provide PennDOT with $450 million in 2021 for transit systems.

Acting PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said the turnpike paid its April 30 installment of $112 million but has requested postponing its July payment.

“The turnpike has encountered a drastic drop in revenues,” Gramian testified during the transportation hearing.

The payment by the turnpike to PennDOT is required by law enacted in 2007 under then-Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration.

Compton testified

PennDOT’s agreement to delay payment will help enable the commission to meet its primary mission of operating the turnpike.

Compton said the commission has implemented these steps to offset revenue cuts:

• Reevaluating a 10-year, $5.95 billion capital improvement plan.

• Reducing the capital plan for 2021 by 24% to $459.7 million.

• Implementing a hiring freeze.

• Restructuring debt and securing a $200 million line of credit.

• Working on a transition for telecommuting.

On March 16, the turnpike stopped accepting cash tolls and credit cards on its system due to the coronavirus.

The system is capturing license plate numbers and sending invoices by mail for drivers who do not have an E-ZPass.

Beginning this week, 7-Eleven, which has taken over the food and fuel operations previously run by Sunoco, is performing upgrades at 17 service plazas along the turnpike.

The upgrades, which begin at 9 p.m. and take six hours to complete, will continue through June 3. Fuel and convenience store purchases are unavailable during that period.

The upgrades this month include: Allentown, Thursday; Blue Mountain and Valley Forge, May 18; King of Prussia, May 19; and Bowmansville, May 27.