BCT Editorial – 10/21/09

This page was last updated on October 21, 2009.

Road to ruin; Editorial; Beaver County Times; October 21, 2009.

This is another editorial pushing to make I-80 a toll road. As I’ve written previously, I’m all for placing tolls on all limited access highways where practical. We’d use the toll revenue collected for a road or bridge only for the “care and feeding” of that road or bridge. For example, tolls collected on the Monaca-Rochester Bridge could not be used for the Vanport Bridge. This isn’t far fetched. Those of us old enough to remember will recall the Monaca-East Rochester Bridge was tolled from its opening in 1959 until 1973.

The Times, however, wants I-80 tolls to be used to transfer wealth from I-80 drivers to users of other roads and government-owned and run bus systems like BCTA and PAT.

The editorial also mentions the unpopularity of raising the gasoline tax. If true I believe it’s because most people understand the tax revenue would not be spent solely on the roads and bridges. Just as with the I-80 toll, some of the revenue would be used to transfer wealth from drivers to users of government-owned and run bus systems like BCTA and PAT.