Keep Interstate 80 free

Keep Interstate 80 free

The idea that Dwight D. Eisenhower set out to create a cash cow for state governments that found themselves unable to balance their budgets is ludicrous.

And yet, Pennsylvania persists in its efforts to convert a portion of the Interstate Highway System, specifically Interstate 80 that now provides a free cross-state route for private and business travel, into a toll road.

The Interstate Highway System includes some 47,000 miles of road, about 3,000 miles of which are toll roads. But almost all of the toll roads, including the Ohio and Pennsylvania turnpikes, predated Eisenhower’s vision for a system of freeways that would crisscross the nation, breaking down boundaries and encouraging commerce.

Some of Pennsylvania’s leaders, including Gov. Ed Rendell, have become relentless in their pursuit of the dollars the would take out of the pockets of I-80 travelers and shift to other transportation projects, including mass transit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

A delegation of three U.S. representatives, including Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Erie, and 14 members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly met with officials of the Federal Highway Administration last week and urged rejection of the latest tolling scheme.

Just a year ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation rejected Pennsylvania’s request to put tolls on I-80, and it should do so again.

There is more at stake than the refusal of Pennsylvania lawmakers to balance their budget. The very integrity of the interstate system is under attack by Pennsylvania and other states.

If Washington gives in to Pennsylvania on a stretch of road as significant as I-80, the ratio of free roads to toll roads in the interstate system will begin to shift toward the day when freeways are the exception rather than the rule.