Turnpike officials cite Act 44 bond payments, outline open-road tolling rollout and collections work

Pennsylvania Turnpike officials told the House Transportation Committee on March 17 that long-term bond obligations under Act 44 and system changes tied to the shift to open-road tolling are driving recent and planned toll increases, and described steps the commission is taking on collections, vehicle classification and sustainability projects.

Mark (Turnpike official) told committee members that the turnpike "does consider ourselves a key economic driver here for the Commonwealth" and detailed the commission's capital and operating budgets as context for rate decisions.

The commission said about 550,000 motorists use the turnpike each day and the agency is managing an approximately $600,000,000 capital plan and a roughly $400,000,000 annual operating budget that pays more than 1,400 employees. Officials said Act 44 — enacted in 2007 — required large annual payments to the state and that the turnpike's debt service tied to those obligations remains a principal reason for toll increases. The agency said the largest bond payments will continue for years as the commission meets its contractual obligations under that statute.

Craig Shuey, a turnpike official who led the presentation on open-road tolling, said the agency converted sections of the system to…