Turnpike tolls to rise in January

Route 130 interchange added to 10- year plan

The Pennsylvania Turnpike plans to raise tolls for the 12th year in a row, but in a boon for motorists, some of the money could be used to build an interchange between Monroeville and Irwin.

The turnpike commission Tuesday approved the 6% toll increase that will begin Jan. 5 and added the cashless interchange at Route 130 in Penn Township to its 10- year capital plan.

The new tolls will raise the cost for passenger vehicles traveling the length of the state to $ 61.80 from the current $ 58.30 for cash customers, and to $ 44.20 from $ 41.70 for EZPass users. The increases have been lower for E- ZPass users for several years to encourage more motorists to switch to the electronic payment system.

The most common toll amount for a passenger vehicle will increase to $ 2.40 from $ 2.25 for cash customers and to $ 1.50 from $ 1.38 for E- ZPass customers, turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said.

For a Class 5 tractor- trailer, the most common toll will increase to $ 17.30 from $ 16.30 for cash and to $ 4 from $ 3.70 for E- ZPass.

The toll increase was expected. The turnpike has been lobbying the state Legislature to eliminate the annual $ 450 million payment it must make to the state Department of Transportation for mass transit. That forces the turnpike to use about half of its $ 1.4 billion in toll revenue to pay debt service. It has to borrow for the PennDOT payments, and that limits improvements it can make to the road

system, CEO Mark Compton said in a news release.

“Since 2007, the commission has increased tolls annually to maintain its aging roads and make good on a funding obligation required by two state laws …,” Mr. Compton said. “As a result, the commission has delivered $ 6.6 billion in toll- backed funding to PennDOT in the last dozen years.”

Because of that debt, the agency said, it has been unable to proceed with projects such as the proposed interchange in Penn Township.

Mr. DeFebo said no one was available Tuesday to explain what changed to allow the commission to add the interchange to the 10year capital plan. Regardless, Gina Cerilli, chair of the Westmoreland County commissioners, called the action “great news,” and Penn Township manager Alex Graziani said he was “thrilled.” The township and county have been working with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and the turnpike for more than five years to get the interchange built. The project would be at Route 130 near Pleasant Valley Road and a turnpike maintenance shed. Three years ago, a study by the SPC estimated the cost of the interchange at $ 29.6 million and the cost for improvements to Route 130 to handle additional traffic at $ 67.7 million. The interchange would require Route 130 to be expanded to at least three lanes in that area, the study said.

Mr. DeFebo said putting the project on the 10- year plan isn’t a guarantee it will be built; the turnpike commission reviews the plan annually. The interchange would coincide with plans to widen the turnpike from two lanes to three in each direction between the Irwin and Monroeville interchanges. That 10- mile, $ 300 million project is expected to begin in 2023.

The agency began preparatory work for the expansion project last year when it built a longer bridge on Trafford-Murrysville Road near Massung Lane above the turnpike to accommodate the wider highway.

The agency is switching to cashless tolling at interchanges across the state.