Pennsylvania Turnpike Projects Could Fall Victim To Debt
by Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The on-going work to connect the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 could be a casualty of ballooning debt.
It's one of a handful of planned Turnpike improvements in the Philadelphia region that could be scrapped if financial conditions warrant, according to the Turnpike Commission.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says an immediate reduction in capital spending is not necessary, but it does identify six projects that could be suspended if the need arises.
"These are what we consider to be performance-driven projects, meaning they go above and beyond what's needed to maintain our current turnpike system," said Commission spokesman Carl Defebo.
In addition to the I-95 connection, a cashless interchange to Norristown's Lafayette Street could be on the chopping block, though that is key to Montgomery County's revitalization of Norristown, and county commissioners vow to fight it if it were to happen.
Defebo says the Turnpike continues to be squeezed by transportation funding laws from 2007 and 2013 that require an annual payment of $450 million to PennDOT.
He says, since 2007, turnpike tolls have funded more projects off the turnpike than on it.
