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[mightyace]

The PTC is once again debating what to do with the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09151/973812-147.stm.

As the article said, they've been talking about this for years, but no action.

Of course, talk is cheap, but new highway is not!

Stop talking and start doing something PTC! 

[mightyace]

The PTC is once again debating what to do with the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09151/973812-147.stm.

Tollroadnews.com has also picked this up.
http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4186

[PAHighways]

Some Pennsylvania Turnpike Curves Will be a Little Less Sharp

[mightyace]

Some Pennsylvania Turnpike Curves Will be a Little Less Sharp

<sarcasm>The PTC is acutally using toll money to maintain and upgrade existing turnpike right-of-way.  What a concept! </sarcasm>

[PAHighways]

<sarcasm>The PTC is acutally using toll money to maintain and upgrade existing turnpike right-of-way.  What a concept! </sarcasm>

They've been doing that for about a decade now.  When the section around Donegal was rebuilt a few years ago, the S-curves just east of Exit 91 were straightened.

[mightyace]

<sarcasm>The PTC is acutally using toll money to maintain and upgrade existing turnpike right-of-way.  What a concept! </sarcasm>

They've been doing that for about a decade now.  When the section around Donegal was rebuilt a few years ago, the S-curves just east of Exit 91 were straightened.

I know you're right.

IMHO This core mission of the PTC has gotten lost in the shuffle of building all the new "Turnpikes," assistance to PennDOT, the infamous I-80 project, etc.  (at least it feels that way to me.)

[Mr_Northside]

Yeah.. so now we folks in the southern half of the state not only pay the same vehicle registration & gas tax as the people in the northern half for state roads in general.... but we have to pay to use "our" E-W interstate on top of that.  Money that is now not only used for the toll road itself, but to give PennDOT money to use, in part (because it's part of the state), for transportation needs in the north part of the state as well.
And the people around I-80 want to bitch about "fair" every time someone talks about tolling I-80!?!
It can be argued that Act 44 was just an all around bad idea from the start, but the bottom line is that currently the system is extremely unfair to residents that use the turnpike.

Asides from that, I'll give credit to the PTC in the last decade for actually trying to make the turnpike a much better ride.  I can't wait for the completed rebuilding / 6-lane-ing of the Irwin<-> New Stanton stretch.

[exit322]

Three-laning all of the PA Turnpike probably wouldn't be a terrible idea, though for my travels I can easily avoid it to get to Pittsburgh from here.

[mightyace]

And the people around I-80 want to bitch about "fair" every time someone talks about tolling I-80!?!
It can be argued that Act 44 was just an all around bad idea from the start, but the bottom line is that currently the system is extremely unfair to residents that use the turnpike.

I will agree with you that Act 44 is a bad idea.  Diverting tolls to non-toll projects is usually a bad idea.  There is now a lawsuit is Mass. since Mass Pike tolls are paying for some of the non-tolled portions of the Big Dig.

But, spreading the misery around doesn't make it right!

The main thrust of all this chicanery is that Gov. Rendell wants to increase support for Philly and Pittsburgh transit systems either directly or indirectly and I don't see why people like my dad who live in the northern part of the state or even people in southern parts of the state like Bedford and Somerset should pay for this!

As a former PA resident, I remember how the two P's have thrown their weight around and stuck it to the rest of the state!  Might does not make right!

[PAHighways]

PTC Approves Rebuilding Seven Miles in Allegheny County

[Revive 755]

The PTC is once again debating what to do with the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09151/973812-147.stm.

As the turnpike gradually widens to three lanes in each direction, and with traffic expected to increase, the two-lane tunnels will become a bottleneck.

I have a hunch that by the time the I-70 to Harrisburg section is six lanes all the way, whatever major widening that happens in the Wheeling - KC section of I-70 (truck lanes or 6+ lanes) will be done.

And instead of tolling I-80, they should toll that awful section of I-70 between the Turnpike and I-79 and bring it up to interstate standards.

[PAHighways]

I have a hunch that by the time the I-70 to Harrisburg section is six lanes all the way, whatever major widening that happens in the Wheeling - KC section of I-70 (truck lanes or 6+ lanes) will be done.

It won't be six lanes all the way.

And instead of tolling I-80, they should toll that awful section of I-70 between the Turnpike and I-79 and bring it up to interstate standards.

The issue is that no one is going to sell their farmland to the state or give up their house to widen a road they feel is fine.  It has been improved as much as possible with some widening of the median and shoulders, but it will never be like the post-1956 Interstates such as 79 or 80.

[exit322]

I think the appropriate move on 70 might be to take out some of the ramps and make the stop-sign merges a better onramp.  The medians suck, but you can deal with that - it's the off ramps/on ramps that are the bigger problem to me.

[SSOWorld]

I think the appropriate move on 70 might be to take out some of the ramps and make the stop-sign merges a better onramp.  The medians suck, but you can deal with that - it's the off ramps/on ramps that are the bigger problem to me.

No doubt, I drove that stretch in April and I feared for my life.  I hope no partial realignments happen that force me to clinch it again 

[PAHighways]

I think the appropriate move on 70 might be to take out some of the ramps and make the stop-sign merges a better onramp.  The medians suck, but you can deal with that - it's the off ramps/on ramps that are the bigger problem to me.

No doubt, I drove that stretch in April and I feared for my life.  I hope no partial realignments happen that force me to clinch it again 

Don't worry, PennDOT won't be realigning any sections.

[PAHighways]

Allegheny River Bridge Project Will Take on the Appearance of a Natural Hillside

[Sykotyk]

Other than the absurdly short ramps on that stretch of 70, the other big complaint I have is the Mon River crossing. Slowing an interstate down to 45mph is rather troublesome. Throw in that a lot of people don't follow it (which makes those that do a problem, afterall, where are cops going to sit at to watch that section?) and you wind up with big safety issues.

Sykotyk

[PAHighways]

Slowing an interstate down to 45mph is rather troublesome. Throw in that a lot of people don't follow it (which makes those that do a problem, afterall, where are cops going to sit at to watch that section?) and you wind up with big safety issues.

As someone who drove that Interstate regularly for three years, I can tell you exactly where they would hide:  Speers on-ramp, PA 88 interchange, and the North Belle Vernon on-ramp going eastbound, and the PA 906 interchange and Speers on-ramp going westbound.

[PAHighways]

High-Speed E-ZPass Coming Soon to Jefferson Hills Toll Plaza

Ironically, the first toll plaza built specifically with high-speed E-ZPass lanes is the last to have them implemented.

[mgk920]

I think the appropriate move on 70 might be to take out some of the ramps and make the stop-sign merges a better onramp.  The medians suck, but you can deal with that - it's the off ramps/on ramps that are the bigger problem to me.

No doubt, I drove that stretch in April and I feared for my life.  I hope no partial realignments happen that force me to clinch it again 

Don't worry, PennDOT won't be realigning any sections.

Maybe what SHOULD be done instead is to reroute I-70 to follow I-68 to I-79 and then northward on I-79, rejoining its current route via a re-engineered interchange at Washington, PA.

<Ducks!!!!>

 

Mike

[agentsteel53]

the "stop and floor it" freeway merges are indeed a nightmare.

the worst I've ever seen wasn't a freeway but was an expressway section of US-46 that had a very poorly placed big orange temporary construction sign that effectively blocked the view of oncoming traffic from the perspective of the on-ramp.  I pushed over the damn thing.

[mightyace]

It's a little stale, but since no one has posted this...

Criminal probe reported into corruption at Penn Pike

[PAHighways]

Contractor Ordered to Redo Work on Mon-Fay Bridge

[PAHighways]

Attorney general looking into Pennsylvania Turnpike

[mightyace]

Attorney general looking into Pennsylvania Turnpike

Here are the articles on TollRoadsNews that the above article was referring to:

FBI raid Pennsylvania Turnpike HQ, take hard drives and other evidence

New details emerge on FBI raid at Pennsylvania Turnpike - second source confirms

IMHO I agree with the Post-Gazette, the author of the article PAHighways cited, that TollRoadNews was not as accurate as they could have been.  In past links on that site, it seems that the person/people running that site have some kind of beef with the PTC.  While anyone who's read the I-80 Tolling thread knows, I don't think kindly of the PTC, giving them a hatchet job that may or may not be based on facts is not appropriate for a news site.