UNITED WE STAND
The page you are viewing was Last Updated on: Sunday, September 29, 2002
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The page you are viewing was Last Updated on: Sunday, September 29, 2002 |
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Questions & Answers
In 1995, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania committed funding for the construction of the West Virginia-to-Uniontown and the I-70-to-PA 51 Mon/Fayette projects and the completion of environmental impact statements (and final environmental clearances) for two remaining Mon/Fayette Expressway and three Southern Beltway projects. On March 19, 1998, in Duquesne, Gov. Tom Ridge announced a new $338 million commitment on the part of the Commonwealth. The latest commitment boosted to $982 million the total financial commitment for the Mon/Fayette Expressway projects and to $41 million the total financial commitment for the Southern Beltway projects. The new $338 million commitment includes: - $93 million to cover an estimated shortfall in the funding necessary to complete the Mon/Fayette Expressway Projects from the West Virginia line north to Pa. Route 43 near Uniontown and from Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township, Washington County north to Pa. Route 51 in Jefferson Borough, Allegheny County. - $230 million to complete final design and right-of-way acquisition for the Uniontown-to-Brownsville Area and Route 51-to-Pittsburgh Mon/Fayette Expressway Projects. The $230 million includes $172 million for the Route 51-to-Pittsburgh Project and $58 million for the Uniontown-to-Brownsville Project. - $15 million to carry the Route 60-to-Route 22 Southern Beltway Project through final design.
Act 26 of 1991 allocated 14 percent of the 55-mill Pa. Oil Company Franchise Tax to the PTC for Act 61 projects and provides approximately $40 million a year. Act 3 of 1997 further provided the PTC with a set amount ($28 million annually) from the Motor License Fund. The two funding streams total about $68 million a year. These funds will be leveraged to maximize the amount of revenue that can be generated to continue advancing these major projects.
Assuming no drastic changes in the economy, the total amount of money currently available is about $1.1 billion. This includes federal funds, reimbursement from the state of West Virginia, unbonded Oil Franchise funds, Oil Franchise bond revenue, vehicle registration fee bond revenue and unbonded revenue from the vehicle registration fee.
The costs for completing the two Mon/Fayette Expressway projects under construction, moving the five other projects through the environmental impact statement approval phase, completing final design and right-of-way acquisition for the Route 51-to-Pittsburgh and Uniontown-to-Brownsville Area Mon/Fayette Projects, and completing final design for the Route 60-to-Route 22 Southern Beltway Project are estimated at approximately $1.1 billion.
From the 1991, 1992 and 1993 appropriation acts and under the rural and urban access projects in the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), the PTC received $23.8 million. The new six-year Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21), which became law in June 1998, provides $20 million to construct the Mon/Fayette Expressway between Uniontown and Brownsville and $5 million to construct the Pennsylvania portion of the Mon/Fayette Expressway's Mason Dixon Link. The Mon/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway projects, including the portion of the Mon/Fayette Expressway's Mason Dixon Link in West Virginia, are eligible to compete for federal funds that will be available under the National Corridor Planning and Development Program. TEA 21 provides a total of $700 million for the funding pool - $140 million annually for each of the last five years of the legislation. The Mon/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway projects also would be eligible for any federal funds set aside for "high priority corridors."
As of May 31, 1998, approximately $231 million had been spent on the Mon/Fayette and Southern Beltway projects. Of this amount, $18 million had come from the federal government, $3.6 million from the state of West Virginia and the remaining $209.4 million had come from Act 26/Act 3 revenues, bond revenue and Turnpike 43 toll receipts.
That is very difficult to answer. First, the economy (i.e. interest rates, inflation) and when the money would become available are crucial considerations. In addition, a number of alternatives are still under consideration within most of these corridors. When preferred alternatives are identified and factors such as socio-economic impacts, environmental impacts and community input are considered in preliminary design, more reliable estimates can be made. At this time, total costs of the five projects not yet in final design or construction are estimated at not less than $1.7 billion. Hopefully, private/public partnerships and donations of rights-of-way can help defray costs. A continuing and coordinated effort at the federal, state and local levels will be needed if all of these projects are to be completed.
No. Toll revenues from all PTC operations except Turnpike Route 43 are utilized to pay the bond debt on these two toll roads.
Toll collection facilities will be strategically placed to achieve an equitable cost per mile, to the extent possible. Rates will be comparable to those on other new toll roads being built in the U.S.
In the early years, toll revenues should cover the costs of operation and maintenance. After the payment of operation and maintenance costs, there may be some excess net toll revenue to cover part of the bond debt. However, the net toll revenue is not expected to be substantial enough to allow the PTC to issue new bonds for additional Pa. Act 61 projects beyond the Mon/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway projects. The long-term benefit of collecting tolls is to cover operation and maintenance costs without using state tax revenue.
New toll plazas are being planned to allow the use of electronic toll collection. This will provide for smoother operation by eliminating the need for the customer to come to a complete stop to pay a toll. Ultimately, this may increase use of the new toll highway and reduce operational costs. The PTC will work closely with its union leaders and their members to encourage a cooperative approach in dealing with the labor issues involved.
At this time, the Turnpike Commission will advance the projects in the manner specified by Gov. Ridge in his announcement of March 19, 1998. As we get closer to the next Records of Decision and as federal and other funding opportunities become clearer, additional decisions may be forthcoming. It is possible that certain decisions may be made before all of the Records of Decision are obtained.
This is a difficult and complicated question to answer. Many factors can affect the decisions about prioritizing certain projects. Some of the issues that would be considered in the decision making process include: * Is funding available to complete a project and open it to traffic so that it is useful to the public and it can start to generate revenue?* How much revenue can be generated by the individual projects? * Do we need to protect the future right-of-way from development that may occur? * Collateral commitments of special funding or right-of-way donations may have time frames that must be met. * What type of economic impact can be anticipated from construction of the project? * How urgent are the transportation needs that the project will satisfy? * How much funding is available over what period of time? * Input from elected officials and the general public.
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