For Whom the Tolls Toll
I'm normally no daredevil, but I took my life into my hands a few weeks ago. Multiple times.
I had to traverse Interstate 80 for the wedding of a cousin in Youngstown, Ohio (City motto: "Almost as Lively as Akron"). It turns out that, according to paturnpike.com/i80, I-80 has 16 structurally deficient bridges, 13 fracture-critical bridges and 20 weak-link bridges.
It also has 69 functionally obsolete bridges, which sounds worse than it is. Functionally obsolete bridges have "older design features compared to newer bridges." Not that I care about that. I don't need my bridges to be stylish, but I want them to be safe. And they're not.
The road itself isn't so spiffy, either. Fifty-four percent of the pavement is 35 to 50 years old. Despite ranking I-80 second in 2007 for "Most Improved" segment, Overdrive Magazine, a leading trucking magazine, also reported I-80 tied for second worst in its survey of truckers. In a related aside, according to a January 2008 issue of Overdrive, "Pennsylvania is the all-time worst offender in the Overdrive survey, topping the Worst Roads category for 12 of the survey's 17 years."
I didn't know any of this before I hit the road. I did notice that I-80 was the most boring road I had ever traveled.
I-80 serves no major cities in Pennsylvania. It is a shortcut when you have to get from New Jersey to Ohio as quickly and uninterestingly as possible. It's 311 miles of asphalt broken up by an occasional neighborhood, signs for hotels, truck stops, standard-issue fast-food joints near the exits, and a handful of cows, many of which appeared to be yawning. Draw your own conclusions.
The plentiful exits and not-unhygienic rest stops (13 of them) along the way are the road's most attractive feature, particularly to a traveler — and I'm not mentioning any names here — whose physician at one time may have uttered the words "irritable bowel syndrome" in the course of a diagnosis.
I don't know that much can be done to add some pizzazz to the road, and I don't know if it's necessary. But there are a couple of plans to fix the poor condition of I-80 that are part of a heated debate in Harrisburg.
The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 44 in July 2007, which is expected to generate an average of $1 billion over the next 12 years to repair roads and bridges throughout the state, in addition to $2.5 billion to rehabilitate I-80 over the next decade. It will also provide funding for public transportation.
By comparison, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation normally invests $50 million to $60 million per year in capital improvements for I-80.
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HALF OFF DEPOT
However, there's a big stop sign standing in the way of Act 44. Tolling I-80 needs approval from the Federal Highway Administration. It's also opposed by some who believe tolling I-80 will be bad for businesses (and drivers) along the route.
A consortium led by Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. of Spain is the successful high bidder to lease the turnpike for $12.8 billion for 75 years, but it needs to gain approval by the Pennsylvania Legislature before the state can accept the bid. The I-80 toll plan calls for an estimated increase of 25 percent in 2009, with subsequent annual increases of about 3 percent.
Just like you don't want to know what goes into making a Mariah Carey record, you don't want to know the machinations that will determine the outcome of this debate. But the roads have to be repaired, so there's a price that has to be paid one way or another because of years of all-too-typical political negligence.
Personally, I don't care which path the state chooses. With the increased tolls and the price of gas, I won't be able to afford to drive I-80 or the turnpike anymore.
Jay Nachman is a writer in Philadelphia. To reply to his Slant, or submit one of your own, e-mail your 650-word opinion piece to Brian Howard (bhoward@citypaper.net).
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