PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is $13.2 billion in debt — more than the entire debt of the commonwealth, according to state officials.
The Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General conducted an audit of the turnpike between 2018 and 2022 to determine if the money the commission collects is enough to fulfill its payment obligations and plan improvement projects.
Auditor General Timothy DeFoor said his office found that the turnpike “has more debt than the entire state government of Pennsylvania.”
The state government’s debt stands at $11.7 billion.
“The situation was decades in the making,” he said, “from tolls only being raised five times in 64 years to legislation that forced the turnpike to borrow money.”
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The audit revealed three major findings:
1. The commission continues to face significant challenges to raise toll revenue and make payments to PennDOT
2. Uncollected toll payments have increased.
3. Anti-discrimination language in contracts is outdated and lacks content.
“We recommend the turnpike explore ways to reduce operating costs, including collaborating with other state agencies, and the turnpike needs to continue to analyze managing its debt,” said DeFoor.
That is among 23 recommendations from the audit.
Read all 23 recommendations
DeFoor said the turnpike will have to raise tolls every year for the next 28 years to meet its current financial obligations.
“The biggest takeaway is that the Turnpike Commission did not get into this situation itself,” DeFoor added. “The Legislature and the executive branch need to work together now to ensure the turnpike is financially viable for the future.”
The full performance audit report is available online.
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