Pa. Turnpike Commission continues modernizing roadway

Listen to this article

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) spent more than $690 million in roadway maintenance and improvements to modernize the Turnpike this year. 

 The PTC said the improvements include resurfacing more than 46 miles of roadway, undertaking total reconstruction of an all-time high additional 27 miles statewide and replacing two major bridges at Beaver River and Hawk Falls. 

Gantries continued to be constructed to allow the Turnpike to move to Open Road Tolling (ORT), PTC said. These new highway-speed collection points are being built along the system to allow for a cashless, free-flowing mode of collecting tolls without traditional toll plazas or tollbooths.  

ORT is expected to go live east of the Reading Interchange (Exit 286) to the New Jersey line and along the entire Northeastern Extension (I-476) in the beginning of 2025, with points west of Reading expected to become operational in 2027.  

PTC said it also continues to install a fiber optic network to meet future ORT needs and support automated vehicle technology, with projects east of Harrisburg complete and that west of Harrisburg underway.  

 “The PTC has been the leader in transportation from the day our highway opened [83 years ago], and we continue to be an organization that isn’t afraid to re-invent how we do business, transform who we are to our customers and reimagine our place in the communities we connect,” said PTC Chairman and PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll.  

“Modernization and innovation are not the exceptions here; they are the norm and the foundation for our decision-making,” Carroll said. “Our 1,300 talented and committed employees care deeply about safety and customer service. I am proud of what our team has accomplished this year and the work they will continue to do to lead the transformation of our historic roadway in the years to come.”  

In December, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Act 38 of 2023 into law, which makes the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement (AWZSE) program permanent.  

According to the 2023 AWZSE Annual Report, there has been a 47% reduction in excessive speeding in work zones and 38% in overall speeding since the program began in March 2020.  

In addition to safety improvements, PTC said the Turnpike has seen more than 192 million customers use the more than 560-miles of roadway from Jan. 1 to Dec. 1, a 3.3% increase compared to the same period in 2022.  

PTC said 86% of customers are using EZPass, paying a rate that is below the national toll road average and up to 60% less than the Toll by Plate rate.  

Operating expenses for Fiscal Year 2023 (June 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023) came in about $60 million (14%) under budget and have declined 2.7% in aggregate from FY2019 through FY2023, PTC said. 

Moody’s and S&P upgraded PTC’s credit rating this year to “AA” for the first time since Act 44 was first enacted in 2007, which has required the Turnpike to pay nearly $8 billion to PennDOT since 2007. 

 The credit rating upgrade is expected to save the PTC tens of millions of dollars in interest rate savings over the next 30 years, it said.  

Enhancements to Act 112 went into effect January 2023, lowering the threshold for vehicle registration suspension from the original $500 to $250. Act 112, originally passed in 2018, allows the PTC to request PennDOT to suspend vehicle registration on Pennsylvania motorists with unpaid tolls.  

Nearly 28,000 suspension letters were sent between January and November, more than double for the same period last year due to the lower thresholds.  

The PTC was honored with two International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) Toll Excellence Awards for Safety and Sustainability, the first time any agency won multiple awards in the same year.  

The PTC was also honored with state awards for achievements in sustainability, diversity and its Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign, among others.