Mar 12, 2020 2 min read

I read Matthew Brouillette’s March 5 op-ed about the situation that has created the ridiculous tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I read it carefully, took notes, but I am not entirely sure how all this came about. It’s very complex … but it’s really unnecessary to comprehend all the details. All you need to know is this: Politically connected individuals got lots of favors and lined their pockets. Same old story!

I don’t depend on the turnpike for a livelihood, thankfully, and only travel it a couple of times a year. I feel sorry for the people who do need it to make a living and have to travel on it on a regular basis. I’m sure we are all paying into this without realizing it, however, because tolls figure into the shipment costs of all types of merchandise that is trucked over the turnpike. Exactly what is the projected toll limit? One hundred dollars one way? More?

It takes money to maintain the highway, but I’m thinking that eventually that won’t be much of an expense because no one will be driving on it because it’s too expensive. Maybe that’s the end goal – make it so expensive that there are no vehicles and then maintenance costs will go way down!

This is the big question that I haven’t seen a suggestion for anywhere. How can we fix this? I guess the right people haven’t been hurt enough in the wallet yet, and only then will something happen that will benefit the rest of us. Harrisburg, you have all sorts of lucrative legislative powers. You got us into this mess, now get us out!

Sally Brown-Pawlosky

Hickory