422plus FAQs

Q: Why can’t more lanes be added now to US Route 422 to eliminate congestion?  Can’t funds collected from gas taxes be used to improve the highway?

Q: I’ve heard that if there IS a toll, that money would be used to fund a new commuter train between Norristown and Wyomissing (just west of Reading). Why should I pay a toll on US 422 to pay for passenger rail I might never use?

Q: What might the train service look like?

Q: Why should I pay a toll on US 422? Haven’t I already paid for the road with my taxes?

Q: I’m worried that my toll money will go into the state’s general fund and be wasted. How can I be certain that money for 422 stays here?

Q: Why toll US 422 and not other roads like 202, 309, the Blue Route (I-476), and the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76)?

Q: The US 422 Corridor Master Plan resolution supports the idea of studying 422.  If my municipality signs the resolution, are they automatically supporting tolling on US 422?

The 422plus Project is considering widening the road in some areas to accommodate current and future traffic.  However, there is no federal and state money available for adding lanes on a significant portion of the corridor; and rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges will take priority over major widening in the future.

This is what the 422plus Project is all about: developing a transportation system that works and a funding strategy that answers these questions:

• How can drivers have a better ride on US 422?
• How can the road be fixed – providing you with better maintenance and safer operation?
• How can transportation alternatives be provided – like a passenger train between Norristown and the Wyomissing/Reading area – to reach your job or favorite destination?

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There is a misconception that the toll money will only fund the proposed passenger rail extension.  In fact, any toll money collected will first be used to fund transportation projects to improve your commute, and the safety and operation of US 422.

The 422plus Project is investigating the possibility of some toll revenue also funding a portion of the capital costs for new train service – providing an alternative to driving on 422.  In order to pay for the remaining capital costs and the annual operating costs of the train, the following sources of funding would be combined: (1) traditional sources of transit funding such as Federal Transit Administration, PennDOT, and Montgomery, Chester, and Berks counties, (2) fares collected from transit riders, and (3) potential public/private partnerships.

Passenger rail service would add choice to the 422 Corridor, giving everyone more options for moving around the region.

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Passenger train service between Norristown and Wyomissing (just west of Reading) will provide an alternate way for residents and employees to travel along the 422 Corridor and into Center City Philadelphia – just like the multiple Regional Rail lines provide to eastern Montgomery County and central Chester County.

While detailed analysis by the 422plus Project Team is still underway, it is most likely that the service will start with approximately 14 to 16 trains per day – 7 to 8 round trips – to keep the operating costs affordable for the counties and the state.

As the market for the train increases, more service can be added.

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While gas taxes helped pay for building US 422 in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, current revenue from gas taxes is not enough to pay for the full cost of maintaining and improving the road.  The huge demands on the road, and the growing construction costs and limited transportation budget greatly exceed the ability to fund critical maintenance and improvements.

Road surfaces and bridges are in need of repair – and it’s easy to see why.  Since it opened in 1985, the transportation load on 422 has become overwhelming; as many as 100,000 vehicles travel the eastern sections of the corridor every day.  From 1990 to 2000, the population of many communities within the 422 Corridor has increased at double and even triple-digit rates. Almost all of these people rely on the automobile.

But while the population of drivers has been growing, money for improving roads like US 422 has been shrinking:

• Next year, the Federal Highway Trust Fund is projected to show a $3.2 billion deficit in its highway account.

• Pennsylvania has more than $3 billion worth of highway and transit needs that cannot be addressed with its current budget.

• National efforts to reduce gasoline consumption are succeeding. While that’s good news, it’s also causing a decrease in gas tax revenue, which funds improvements for highways.  Since 2004, gasoline consumption in Pennsylvania has declined by an annual average rate of 1.3%.

• Construction costs have dramatically increased. Since 2003, the cost of highway construction materials has increased 43%.

Funding solutions must be found so congestion on US 422 does not cause residential and commercial vitality to grind to a halt. While nobody likes the idea of paying a toll, the alternative means more potholes, bigger traffic jams, and decaying infrastructure.

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The 422plus Project will make sure that toll money spent by drivers goes into improving the 422 Corridor.

We are working with your legislators and local officials to develop the mechanism to ensure that the money raised for the corridor stays in the corridor.

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While Southeastern Pennsylvania has many roads needing significant maintenance, these other roads don’t face the immediate opportunities and challenges of 422:

• Key projects are unfunded. Over $350 million in highway maintenance and improvements on 422 can’t be built without new revenue. Traditional funding for constructing these improvements is unlikely to happen for another 15 years or longer, if at all.

• Competition for funding is fierce. These unfunded projects are competing with projects all over the region for scare transportation funds. Without new revenue, many of these projects will wait 15 years or more.

• Strong regional leadership gives the 422 Corridor the ability to take on big challenges. Business leaders, community organizations, institutions, and government are all working together to improve the region.

By exploring the option of tolling a portion of 422, the region has a unique opportunity to control its own destiny and expedite improvements to our transportation system. The funds will be generated locally and spent locally.

Across the country, states are scrambling to find ways to fund the maintenance and improvement of thousands of miles of roadways. More and more reports about the future of transportation funding are describing how states are looking to fund road improvements with toll revenue. Tolling on interstates and other expressways will become more common in the next 10 years as the nation’s highway system must be reconstructed.

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No. By signing this resolution, municipalities are not endorsing tolling.

While tolling is one of the options described, there are many other strategies identified in the Master Plan.

If your hometown leaders endorse the resolution, it means only that your local officials are willing to work with their community, the state, the participating counties, and other alliances to explore the 10 planning strategies outlined in the Master Plan.

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