Pa. I-80 tolling plan is nixed.

A push by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell to put tolls on Interstate 80 was rejected by the federal government last month. This news, coupled with a 2008 effort to privatize the Pennsylvania Turnpike through a deal with Albertis and Citigroup, had previously failed to win approval from Pennsylvania state legislators and federal regulators, the report said. The Federal Highway Administration also rejected the I-80 tolling plan in September 2008 because the planned use of toll revenues did not meet federal requirements. Had it been approved, Pennsylvania would have been the third pilot interstate tolling project permitted under a federal transportation act. It would have added the 311 miles of I-80 to the 5,244 miles of tolled highways and bridges operating in the U.S., according to various reports.