Interstate 81 Should Reopen In Harrisburg By Tuesday Morning, PennDOT Officials Say

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Dauphin County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Under ideal circumstances, transportation officials hope to reopen all lanes of Interstate 81 underneath the ramp damaged by last week’s tanker fire by early Tuesday morning.

“Our goal will be [to reopen I-81] for the Tuesday morning rush,” said Mike Keiser, the area district executive for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation during a news conference Sunday at the scene of the fire on I-81, near Exit 67.

“I-81 should be back to full lanes in all directions by Tuesday,” he said.

Keiser also announced the completion of crossover lanes splitting the two westbound lanes of Route 22 into a single eastbound and a single westbound lane.  Access to Harrisburg via the crossover should be available after 4 p.m. Sunday, Keiser said.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/interstate_81_should_be_open_i.html#incart_river_default

Financing For Pennsylvania Turnpike/I-95 Connector Concerns Auditor General

Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Friday that an unusual plan to finance construction of the I-95/Pennsylvania Turnpike connection “raises alarms” and may prompt an investigation by his office.

DePasquale said he was especially interested in why an entity was created to broker the deal, in which wealthy foreign investors would lend the turnpike $200 million in exchange for possible permanent residence in the United States.

DePasquale said his office was legally bound to wait until a transaction is completed before launching an audit, so “it may be several months or longer” before he formally investigates the turnpike plan.

“I am going to follow this situation carefully,” DePasquale said.  ”It raises some alarms.  I’m not taking a position that it’s wrong yet. . . . We’ll wait till the issue is ripe for an audit.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20130511_Financing_for_turnpike_I-95_connector_concerns_auditor_general.html#KbbfJ65OCH8owKzj.99

Road Repairs Could Take At Least Two Months After Tanker Fire On Interstate 81

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Dauphin County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Damage from a fuel tanker explosion near the interchange of Interstate 81 and Route 22/322 will cost tens of millions and shut down a small section of road for two months or more, state officials said Thursday afternoon.

Earlier Thursday morning, a fuel tanker exploded and rolled over on the highway, causing what Gov. Tom Corbett believes is the worst damage to a Pennsylvania highway since a tire fire off I-95 near Philadelphia in 1996.

Both directions of I-81 from Route 581 in Cumberland County to I-81/83 split in Dauphin County are closed.  Officials said they expect it to reopen in time for the Monday morning commute.

The ramp from northbound I-81 to westbound Route 22/322 remains closed.  Eastbound Route 22 through the interchange toward the City of Harrisburg remains closed.

Read more and see pictures:   http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/harrisburg_bridges_shut_throug.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Intl. Airport Clears Way For $50M I-81 Project

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport board on Thursday cleared the way for development of a multimillion-dollar access road project.

The board, including the commissioners of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, formally released 16.5 acres of land for the state Department of Transportation to build an access road that will extend from Interstate 81 through the airport property, overpass the Pennsylvania Turnpike and connect to the Grimes Industrial Park in Pittston Township.

“This is a big deal,” Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien said.  ”It opens up the west end of the airport for future economic development projects.

Thirteen acres of the land will be used for the access road and the remaining 3.5 acres will be used for reconstruction of the of the airport exit along Interstate 81 in Dupont.  The project will combine the Avoca and airport exits into one and move traffic through a series of roundabouts.

Read more:  http://standardspeaker.com/news/airport-clears-way-for-50m-i-81-project-1.1476011

New Pennsylvania Turnpike Head Says He’s Ready To Face Down Corruption

Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HARRISBURG – The new chief executive of the troubled Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says he’s glad a scathing grand jury report is finally out, despite its damning allegations of political corruption and influence-peddling within the agency.

“We all knew it was coming, so there is limited relief that it’s here,” Mark P. Compton said in his office overlooking the toll road, outside Harrisburg.  ”Now we can deal with it.”

Supplied with the 85-page report, state Attorney General Kathleen Kane earlier this month filed criminal charges against eight men, including former State Sen. Robert Mellow (D., Lackawanna) and one of Compton’s predecessors, former Turnpike chief executive Joseph Brimmeier.

The grand jury said top turnpike officials solicited contractors for campaign contributions to favored politicians, including then-Gov. Ed Rendell, and took gifts of international travel, sports events, and lavish meals.  In return, the contributors’ companies received multimillion-dollar contracts, even when other bidders were less expensive and more qualified, the report said.

Read more:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20130401_New_Pa__Turnpike_head_says_he_s_ready_to_face_down_corruption.html

Building Boom Resumes In Towamencin Township

Location of Towamencin Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the curved pedestrian bridge Towamencin Township built over the crossroads village of Kulpsville, you can see the next suburban boomtown rising.

It’s taken long enough, says Robert Nicoletti, 82, who bought ground there in 1958.

From the bridge, against a backdrop of the behind-schedule Pennsylvania Turnpike widening at the nearby Lansdale exit, you can watch crews build the four-story Bridgeview apartment complex, which will start renting next month; the thick concrete core of a six-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel, due in the fall;, and the Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College, which will enroll its first students in the spring.  Farther north stands ball-bearing maker SKF Corp.’s U.S. headquarters, certified “platinum” by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The apartments, hotel, cooking school, and corporate headquarters all are the work of Nicoletti’s Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp., better known in the city as a major landlord of parole and welfare offices and other state agencies, as well as a South Philly site proposed by Penn National Corp. for a casino.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130311_Building_boom_resumes_in_Towamencin.html#ixzz2NF5kBdso
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Free Wi-Fi Now Available At All Pennsylvania Turnpike Service Plazas

Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Free Wi-Fi service is now available at all Pennsylvania Turnpike operational service plazas, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced Friday in a news release.

Customers can access free Wi-Fi at the 15 operating service plazas.  Wi-Fi will be available at the two plazas closed for construction, South Midway in Bedford County and Highspire in Dauphin County, when they reopen in May, according to the release.

Read more:  http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_22619793/free-wi-fi-now-available-at-all-pennsylvania

Tolls Climbing, Traffic Declining As Pa. Turnpike Officials Chase Revenue

Pennsylvania Turnpike Ticket from the Warrendale (30) Toll Stop. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  They’re pricing themselves out of business!

HARRISBURG — If you tax something, you get less of it.

It’s one of the basic lessons of economics, and the same principle can be applied to tolls, as the Pennsylvania Turnpike is finding out.

Motorists using the turnpike will face their fifth toll increase in as many years when rates climbed by 10 percent for cash-paying customers (2 percent for those using EZ-Pass) on Sunday.

A recent investigation by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review examined how those increases have affected truck traffic on the highway — suggesting that the higher tolls have caused trucks to divert onto local roads in western Pennsylvania instead of using the turnpike:

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130107/NEWS01/130109756/tolls-climbing-traffic-declining-as-pa-turnpike-officials-chase-revenue#full_story

Rain Falling Harder In Lancaster County; First Power Outage Reported

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roads are empty.

Schools are dark.

The mall is closed.

Emergency workers are at their posts.

Skies darkened and rain began falling hard as the county hunkered down, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to howl through here with its full power later today.

“Get out now,” said Mayor Rick Gray,  urging residents to evacuate in flood-prone areas of the city.  ”If it doesn’t flood, thank God.  If it does flood, you’re safe.  We don’t want to be in a position to put our police officers and our firefighters in harm’s way because you didn’t evacuate.”

The first significant power outage hit late this morning, when about 600 people lost their electricity in the Elizabeth Township area, after power lines were reported down along Route 322 there.

But for most of the county, the morning was the calm before the Frankenstorm as local residents, who had days to buy flashlight batteries, stock up on water and clean out their gutters, waited for the storm.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/766797_UPDATED–Rain-falling-harder-in-county–first-power-outage-reported–.html#ixzz2AhhYq6Ia

Pennsylvania Turnpike Is Billions Of Dollars In Debt

Map of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Stop the madness!

PHILADELPHIA – The Pennsylvania Turnpike may be on the road to the poorhouse.

Required by a 2007 state law to provide billions of dollars for statewide road and bridge repairs and transit operations, the turnpike is spending more money each year than it makes, despite toll increases that have doubled the cost to travel the turnpike over the last 10 years.

To meet the financial demands created by the law, Act 44, turnpike officials have borrowed aggressively, leaving the agency deeper in debt each year.

The Turnpike Commission is now more than $7 billion in debt, up from $2 billion in 2002 and $4 billion in 2009. The burden continues to grow, with the turnpike required to make payments until 2057.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=411605

Hail Of Bullets Ended Turnpike Chase

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Chester County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Chester County man who stole a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer during a high-speed pursuit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike faces numerous charges, troopers said Friday.

Matthew Malory, 28, of Downingtown led police on a wild chase from Lancaster Countyto Chester County, police said.  On two occasions, troopers fired shots at the rig to stop its progress.

The pursuit occurred partly during a thunderstorm and led to a six-hour traffic tie-up on the turnpike.

Police said Malory is being treated at Paoli Hospital for broken ribs suffered when he crashed the pickup near Morgantown.  He later used the stolen rig to ram other vehicles out of the way before crashing in Chester County.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=408022

Pa. Turnpike Approves Toll Hike

 

Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has approved a toll hike for next year.

The commission says the increase means rates will be going up 10 percent for cash-paying customers and 2-percent for those who pay with E-ZPass. The agency says the hike will result in a toll-revenue growth of 3 percent.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=401999

Electric Charging Stations Coming To The Pennsylvania Turnpike

Electric cars are becoming more mainstream.  The Pennsylvania Turnpike will begin installing charging stations at turnpike service plazas, in three phases.

Phase One will be installing charging stations between Harrisburg and New Jersey.

Phase Two will be installing charging stations between Harrisburg and Ohio.

Phase Three will be installing charging stations along the Northeast Extension.

Two types of chargers will installed - Level II charges a car in four hours and Level III will charge a car in 20 minutes.

The project is expected to be completed in June of 2013.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Closed Between Harrisburg East And Reading Interchanges

Image via Wikipedia

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has closed a 39-mile section of the toll road due to a bridge in Dauphin County being threatened by rising flood waters from the Swatara Creek.

To find out the suggested detour routes, click here: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/09/pennsylvania_turnpike_closes_a.html

Pennsylvania Turnpike Tolls To Increase Again In 2012

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Yes, you read that correctly.   The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is raising tolls 10 percent for cash paying customers in 2012.  The increase does not apply to E-Zpass customers.  Tolls increased in 2011 as well, 10 percent for cash payers and 3 percent for E-Zpass users.

This is the Turnpike Commissions way of gently urging everyone to use E-Zpass…

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission – Stupid Is As Stupid Does

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This is JUST unbelievable.  In an effort to “save money” our illustrious PA Turnpike Commission has voted to not print toll prices on tickets.  So starting next month, you won’t have any idea how much the tolls are unless you have them memorized!

Say you get on the turnpike at Morgantown and get off at Breezewood… no where on your ticket will the price be printed.  And we are supposed to “trust” that what ever amount some tells us is due is correct?????  WTH!

PA Auditor General Jack Wagner said he is appalled and feels this is bad judgement.  We AGREE 100%!!!!!  I think this opens the door for abuse!

These losers at the Turnpike Commission are raising the prices 10% for cash customers and 3% for E-ZPass users.  So we are paying more and getting less!

Turnpike Toll Collectors Poised To Become A Thing Of The Past

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Like State Store employees, PA Turnpike Toll Collectors have an uncertain future.  There is a proposal to make the Pennsylvania Turnpike all-electronic.  E-ZPass transponders and cameras may make humans obsolete on the turnpike.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is reviewing bids for a year-long study to make the 545 mile toll road automated.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette puts a human face on the story.  You can read it here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10318/1103248-455.stm

Fast Eddie News

Three things today:

1.  Rendell is leaving us with one last “gift” when he leaves office.  Pennsylvania  Turnpike tolls will be increasing another 10% effective 1/2/11.  E-Z Pass customers will experience a 3% increase.  It is speculated that this is the first in a series of fare increases.  Thanks Ed!

2.  Rendell now expects state employee layoffs to only be about 200 because everybody, their brother and the horse the rode in on are retiring.  The hiring freeze has also helped.  We should have a more concrete number next week.  Oh joy, oh rapture.  More drain on the pension fund.  That will fix everything.

3.  I heard on the radio yesterday that the Pennsylvania State Police have trooper openings that need filled.  So guess what?  They don’t have the money to train them since Fast Eddie slashed their budget something like $9 million dollars.  So no new troopers.  Ummmm public safety is pretty important Ed.  I think we can do with a few less SEPTA or PAT transit employees before we start cutting the police budget.  Many areas of our state depend on the Pennsylvania State Police as their only means of police protection.  Bad move Ed.