PennDOT Sec: Gas Tax Hike Not Being Considered

The head of a panel designed to find ways to fund repairs to the state's roads and bridges says tolling could be the most reliable way to go.
PennDOT's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission will hear a presentation Monday on the possibility of tolling Route 422 in Montgomery, Chester and Berks Counties.
The 30-member commission set up by Governor Tom Corbett looks for ways to pay for transportation improvements across the state.
PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch says tolling would provide a steady stream of income, but can't be used on many busy highways...

“Tolling certainly is mileage-based. It doesn't matter whether your car is electric, fuel cell, or gasoline or diesel. It all gets charged the same way. So that's a possibility in the future, but there are federal laws that restrict that, especially on our interstate systems, so unless they change that won't be a part of the immediate future.”

Schoch says the commission is examining tolls because other sources of funding, like gas taxes, are shrinking...

“If you owned a car in the 1970s chances are it got less than 15 miles-per-gallon. Today you probably get around 30 miles-per-gallon. So, you travel the same amount of miles per year, but you buy half as much gas as you did back in the 70s, and that's a large chunk of how we get our revenue to build the roads and bridges.”

Shoch says the commission is looking for plans that will generate two-and-a-half million dollars in recurring revenue over four or five years. He says the commission has been instructed not to look at increasing the gas tax. But if nothing is done to find more money, he says the department may have to close bridges and roadways as they fall into serious disrepair

Regatta Set to Begin July 3rd

This year’s Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta will have people turning their eyes to the heavens once again but not because the air show is back. The first day’s events will wrap up with high wire walker Nik Wallenda walking across the Allegheny River on a 5/8th inch wire stretched 200 feet above the surface of the water. Wallenda says when he does a stunt like this he usually puts stabilizer cables on the main wire every 25-30 feet to keep it from swaying. However, going over the river with the power boat races below he will only be able to use guy wires on one side. He says in more than 100 years of high ire walking his family has never rigged a wire that way. The wire will run from the down-river side of PNC Park to the 6th street Bridge.
The regatta also includes the traditional fireworks show on the 4th of July and power boat races all weekend. The fireworks show July 4th will run about 25 minutes and include 22,000 fireworks. The largest powerboat will run down the river at speeds of more than 110 miles per hour. The headline music guest is Three Dog Night, which will perform before the fire works.

Three Rivers Regatta Returns

The Three Rivers Regatta will be held this year from July 3rd to the 4th. The festivities will be on the north shore this year with the Pittsburgh pirates having their kid zone set up at the entrance to the Clemente bridge. There will be a concert on a barge in front of Heinz field, and for the first time in a couple years the F-1 Champboat series will return to Pittsburgh. There will also be fireworks and a laser show to end the two day festival. This will be the 31st year for the Regatta. Heinz field and PNC Park are partners with the Regatta this year.