HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has whittled down its list of potential locations for nine toll collection sites along Interstate 80.
The commission revealed 20 locations today along the 311-mile roadway that could get one of the nine cashless tolling stations. Officials are not expected to select the final sites until sometime this fall.
Sites that collect the most revenue while diverting the fewest vehicles onto alternate routes are the ones most likely to be selected, said project manager Barry Schoch. In most cases, the traffic diversion issue will be critical, because sites close to each other are projected to produce about the same amount of money, he said.
The plan is to install cashless toll "gantries" that either communicate with E-ZPass electronic toll transponders or photograph license plates so bills can be mailed to the vehicle owners. Drivers would pass through them at highway speeds.
Schoch said the estimated cost to build the gantry system is $60 million. Because it would not require toll collectors, it would save hundreds of millions of dollars over the first 10 years compared to a traditional tollbooth system, he said.
The 20 potential tolling locations are not precise. The commission simply identified stretches of highway, ranging in length from about one mile to 14 miles, where tolls could be installed.
The turnpike commission is also touting a proposal to limit the tolls that would be paid by local drivers.
Under that plan, two-axle passenger vehicles with E-ZPass transponders would be able to pass through the first toll plaza for free, meaning motorists would be able to drive some 50 or 60 miles without being charged.
Cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and school buses would get the toll discount, regardless of the state in which they are registered. Trucks would not be eligible for it.
Initially, it would cost $25 for a car to drive the full length of Pennsylvania on a tolled I-80, and $93 for a truck. In future years, tolls would rise 3 percent annually.
The I-80 tolling plan received approval from the Legislature last year as a means of generating billions of dollars to fix roads and bridges and subsidize mass transit, but it still requires approval by federal regulators.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ed Rendell is still pushing for a long-term lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Rendell's lease proposal, which would cancel the need for the I-80 tolls, faces stiff opposition in the Legislature.
Jim Courtovich, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Transportation Partners, which bid $12.8 billion for a 75-year turnpike lease, cast doubt on the turnpike's traffic assumptions for I-80.
He called them "highly speculative and bad for the corridor" and said a turnpike lease would provide better management with new leadership.
"The lease remains the only choice that has guarantees and benefits for the entire state," he said.
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