Lou joins Alliance to Stop I-80 Tolling

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HAZLETON – U.S. Congressional candidate Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta today joined the Alliance to Stop I-80 Tolling, a group of elected and business leaders opposed to the state’s plan to put fees on Interstate 80.

With the interstate in the background and state Sen. Lisa Baker, state Rep. Mario Scavello, and Ed Edwards of the Alliance at his side, Barletta pledged his support for the effort to stop I-80 tolling.

“One of the greatest assets we have in northeastern Pennsylvania is our easy access to interstate highways. Our interstates have brought northeastern Pennsylvania economic success. We’ve seen hundreds of businesses move into our area, and they’ve brought dozens of thousands of jobs here. Those jobs allowed local residents to start families, build homes and buy cars,” Mayor Barletta said. “But highways like Interstate 80 have done more than that. I-80 has allowed students access to a college education, at places like East Stroudsburg University. I-80 allows farmers to get their milk, their grain, and their produce to waiting markets. I-80 opens Pennsylvania for tourism, to families in other states and to families right here. I-80 is one of the most important arteries in the life of our entire region. And that is why tolling Interstate 80 is such a terrible idea.

“Putting tolls on I-80 will cripple local businesses. It will hurt commuters and tourism. It will hurt local farmers. And it will hurt communities all along the I-80 corridor, because they will not only see the loss of businesses, jobs, and local tax revenue, but they will also see an increase in traffic on municipal roads, jeopardizing public safety and increasing the cost of repairing those roads,” Mayor Barletta added.

Mayor Barletta asked why his opponent, Congressman Paul Kanjorski, did not do more to stop the toll scheme.

“My opponent has been on every side of the toll issue. First, he was in favor of tolling I-80, saying the state had the right to do it. When two Pennsylvania congressmen, John Peterson and Phil English, proposed legislation that would have stopped I-80 tolling, my opponent did nothing to support them. Instead, the language was removed from the bill and the toll plan moved forward. Then my opponent went to a meeting in Columbia County and said the government should toll every highway in Pennsylvania,” Mayor Barletta said.

“My opponent never owned or operated a small business, so he doesn’t understand what tolling I-80 and other highways would do to hundreds – maybe even thousands – of businesses in Pennsylvania. While tolling I-80 might bring our state revenue, it does so at the expense of the hardworking men and women of northeastern and central Pennsylvania. Thousands of people use this highway to get to work every day. Thousands of students use this highway to get to college. Putting tolls on I-80 would be like putting up financial roadblocks to workers, to economic development agencies, to business projects. It’s a bad idea. Big-city politicians in Washington and Harrisburg view this road as a cash cow – without any thought about the impact tolls would have on residents here – and some of our federal-level politicians have done and are doing very little to stop tolling.

“So where do we come up with the money we need to fix our roads? First, we need Congress to make fixing our infrastructure a priority. This is a national emergency. Congress needs to adjust its spending priorities. Forget bridges to nowhere. We need bridges right here – like those along Interstate 80 in Monroe County, those on all of our highways here, and around the country. Our elected leaders need to show financial discipline and fix our roads.

“I’m proud to join the Alliance to Stop I-80 Tolling because I believe in the work it does. This tolling plan must be stopped, and the chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, trade associations, elected officials and others from across the commonwealth who make up the alliance are doing all they can to protect the hardworking men and women who live on the I-80 corridor.”

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