| Kathy Liebler
Director of Public Information
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C O M M I S S
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Contact: Lowman S. Henry (717) 939-9551 Ext. # 2934 March 13, 1997
PA TURNPIKE SEEKING $508 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS
Harrisburg -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is seeking $508 million in federal funding, most of it through the pending Congressional reauthorization of the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, to help pay for
construction of the Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway projects in
southwestern Pennsylvania. Additional federal dollars are being sought for the
development and installation of new Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) along the
Turnpike.
John T. Durbin, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission,
appeared before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Surface
Transportation Subcommittee today to ask funding for the Mon-Fayette Expressway
and Southern Beltway projects. The subcommittee is hearing requests for funding as
it prepares to reauthorize ISTEA. Last month, Durbin requested $8 million from the
House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation for further
development of the Turnpike's Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), which includes
installation of Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) units along the Turnpike.
The Turnpike's biggest request for funding is the $500 million being sought to
help finance the Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway projects. Portions
of the Mon-Fayette Expressway are already under construction. When completed, the
Mon-Fayette Expressway will link I-68 in West Virginia with the City of Pittsburgh via
the Monongahela River Valley. The proposed Southern Beltway will begin near the
Greater Pittsburgh International Airport west of Pittsburgh and loop south of the city
connecting with the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Washington County.
Turnpike planners have already received a Record of Decision (ROD) from the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for two of the four component Mon-Fayette
Expressway projects. Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) are currently underway for
the remaining two projects and for the three component projects of the Southern
Beltway.
A total of $2.5 billion will be needed to complete all seven of the projects. The
Turnpike currently has $700 million in funding identified, leaving it $1.8 billion short
of the funds needed to build the highways. Durbin's request to Congress for $500
million in ISTEA funds represents 20% of the overall funding for the project. State
liquid fuels tax monies and toll revenue will also be used to help finance the new
roadways, although additional funding sources will still need to be identified.
The Turnpike has already begun development and installation of various
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), including a Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)
network, in the Philadelphia area. Congress appropriated $3 million in funding for
fiscal 1997 to help fund a $5.3 million phase of the Turnpike's ITS program. When
operational, the ITS system will also utilize variable message signs to communicate
timely and accurate information on traffic and weather conditions to Turnpike
travelers. The ITS system envisioned for the Pennsylvania Turnpike also provides for
the development of electronic toll collection, E-Z Pass and "Smart Card" technology.
Durbin asked the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation
for an additional $8 million for ITS projects.
"Together, these funding requests will enable the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Commission to implement the projects needed to keep us competitive into the 21st
Century," Durbin concluded. "They will allow us to be not only America's first
superhighway, but America's safest, most reliable and most valued toll road system."
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P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676 Phone: (717) 939-9551 Fax: (717) 986-9649