The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The commission consists of five members. Four members are appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania, while the fifth member is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation. In addition to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the commission also operates the James E. Ross Highway, Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass, Mon/Fayette Expressway and Pittsburgh's Southern Beltway, the latter two of which are currently under construction. The PTC is the only transportation agency in Pennsylvania that is not part of PennDOT, though it does follow current PennDOT policies and procedures. Mark Compton is the current CEO. Legislation in the Pennsylvania General Assembly is currently pending that would fold the PTC into PennDOT, with PennDOT appointing a Deputy Secretary to run the toll roads in the state. Such a move would be done for efficiency and cost reasons, as well as to cut down on the government bureaucracy.
History
The PTC was established by law on May 21, 1937, when Pennsylvania GovernorGeorge Earle signed Act 211 into law. The first commissioners were named on June 4 of the same year. On April 28, 2010, Governor Ed Rendell proposed that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would be merged into the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. A special session of the state legislature voted on this issue on May 4. On August 26, 2010, PennDOT told the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission that they needed to pay them $118 million for public transit funding provided by Act 44 or PennDOT would have veto power over the Turnpike Commission's decisions. In March 2019, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a $2 million study regarding a proposed hyperloop system in Pennsylvania. The commission hired the multinational engineering firm AECOM to perform the study, which will examine the impact such a system will have on the turnpike's operation, as well as regulatory and environmental concerns.
Highways
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission finances, operates and maintains the following highways:
The Pennsylvania Turnpike mainline across southern Pennsylvania, signed as Interstates 70, 76, 276 and 95.
