Peters and Peterson talk tolls

U.S. Rep. John E. Peterson, R-Pleasantville, met Wednesday with U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to discuss tolling Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania. Peterson, the most outspoken congressional critic of the state’s tolling and borrowing scheme, released the photo above and the statement below:

“Today’s meeting with Secretary Peters, by all accounts, was mutually beneficial. We shared thoughts and insights on the status of approval for Pennsylvania’s I-80 toll application. Though many in the state wrongly assumed that the application to toll I-80 would be a slam dunk, today’s meeting reaffirmed that is not the case. In fact, the secretary indicated that further action from her agency will take place shortly.

“As our commonwealth is climbing further into debt, through this complex borrowing scheme of floating bonds — which has already begun — and paying back hundreds of millions of dollars in interest, it is my sincere hope that Gov. Rendell and our leaders in the General Assembly come to the realization that tolling I-80 is far from a panacea in solving our state’s transportation funding shortfall.”