Pennsylvania Turnpike toll leaps into new year

Scott Gregg of Beaver Falls spent about $38 this holiday season to travel round-trip between the Beaver Valley and Harrisburg exits of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a major portion of the route he took to visit relatives in the southeastern corner of the state.

He makes the trip about three times a year. Next time, it will cost him about $2.30 more. But, like many motorists who use the limited-access artery, Gregg expects to bite the bullet beginning Sunday and pay the state Turnpike Commission's toll hikes ranging from 6 percent to 8 percent rather than making alternate travel plans.

Through successive hikes, including annual increases since 2009, tolls for the trip have at least doubled since Gregg, 56, moved his immediate family to southwestern Pennsylvania two decades ago.

“You're really between a rock and a hard place,” he said as he stopped Monday at the turnpike's New Stanton service plaza. “It's almost like a monopoly to get to anywhere in southeastern Pennsylvania.”

Gregg described a daughter and son-in-law as “money-conscious” and said they take Route 22, driving in the opposite direction to reach Beaver Falls.

“But it takes them an extra hour,” he said.

Turnpike Chief Executive Officer Mark Compton has said the yearly toll hikes, which are expected to continue until 2044, will help cover the commission's debt on borrowing as it looks to spend $5.77 billion over the next 10 years to widen and reconstruct turnpike segments and provide funds for state highway and transit needs. The commission's annual obligations to PennDOT are slated to drop from $450 million to $50 million beginning in 2023.

Travelers don't welcome the pending toll increase, coming on top of an 8-cent-per-gallon increase in Pennsylvania's gasoline tax that took effect with the new year. But some understand the need for higher tolls.

Troy Wilson, 42, of Whitby, Ontario, drives between the Cranberry and Breezewood exits of the turnpike a few times a year on his way to visit family. He said he's noticed an improvement in the ride since previous toll-funded widening has been completed along stretches of the road.

“I find it easier to drive now,” he said. “You used to be driving in a single lane of traffic with (construction) barriers on both sides.”

Noting similar fees are even higher where he lives, Wilson is taking the latest Pennsylvania toll hike in stride.

“It's not going to change my decision of where I drive,” he said.

“It's a nice highway,” agreed Nick Henderson, 32, who travels part of the turnpike about six times a year as he drives from his home in Ann Arbor, Mich., to see his parents in West Virginia.

“It seems to get more and more expensive every year, but how can you get across the state without it?” he said. “We'll keep paying it because we have to.”

Trucker Joe Snyder, 30, of Punxsutawney drives between the turnpike's New Stanton and Donegal exits several times a week while hauling timber for a firm in Shippenville. While the extra toll fees won't come out of his pocket, he said, “My boss isn't going to be happy.”

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6622 or jhimler@tribweb.com.