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The Future Of Pennsylvania's Transportation Fund Is Up In The Air

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There's a huge gap in Pennsylvania's plan to fund roads, bridges and mass transit and there's a good chance that gap will go unfilled next year.

In 2007, state lawmakers approved a plan to raise new revenue for transportation. But the federal government has nixed a key component of that plan: imposing tolls on Interstate-80. That represents nearly a half billion dollars a year the state won't get for roads and mass transit.

Governor Rendell tried and failed to get the legislature to tackle the issue this year. And while Governor-elect Tom Corbett has ideas on how to close that gap, he was non-committal when asked this past week whether it will be a priority next year, "There's a lot of priorities out there. The number one priority is to get a balanced, responsible, reduced budget."

And a spokesman for the Senate majority leader says there are so many major fiscal problems confronting Pennsylvania - including a multi-billion dollar general fund budget gap - that while it would be unfortunate if transportation funding were put on the back burner, he says it is possible that will happen.

Reported By Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio

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