HARRISBURG — A dozen Republican members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters this week, urging her to deny the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's application for the tolling of Interstate 80.

Concerns in the letter mirrored those in a letter sent last week by 11 state senators.

Negative economic impact on businesses and residents of the I-80 corridor, Turnpike Commission self-interest and overwhelming public outcry are just a few of the reasons state house members and senators are opposing the toll plan.

"For these and other reasons we have formed a coalition here in Harrisburg," said Rep. Dick Stevenson (R-Butler/Mercer) on Tuesday.

Stevenson said the GOP coalition was inviting Democratic members of the House to join its crusade.

"The money that is raised through this tolling attempt will not be returned to rural areas in proportion to the urban areas," said Stevenson.

In their letter, the representatives said median income along the Pennsylvania Turnpike is $43,000, compared to just $35,284 along the I-80 corridor. The letter also echoes what people have been saying at the Turnpike Commission's public meetings: local maintenance costs will increase greatly from the wear caused by people seeking secondary roads to avoid tolling.

Act 44, the agreement between the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT, would allocate about $30 million annually to municipalities. That means a paltry $20,000 per local government per year, according to Stevenson.

"Our coalition is working to come up with a list of clear alternatives," said Stevenson.

A Morgan Stanley report indicated a Turnpike lease would generate $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion, substantially more than Act 44, without tolling or increasing bonded debt.

Stevenson said a Turnpike lease plan, as well as the possibility of leasing transit systems themselves, "is something that was never really explored."

State Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Butler/Venango) said the transit systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, SEPTA and PAT, should be funded regionally. The transit systems are to receive funding from the I-80 tolls.

"I think transit should be handled separately from road funding," said Hutchinson. "I don't think either (PAT or SEPTA) is being run efficiently. They don't want to reform themselves, they just want a bigger check from someone else."

Hutchinson said he hoped individuals and businesses would "inundate" Peters' office with letters, urging her to deny the tolling application.

"The northern tier of Pennsylvania has lagged economically and this tolling scheme will be a kick in the teeth to someone who is already down," said Hutchinson.

The senators' letter claimed the I-80 proposal did not fulfill the three criteria required by the federal government to institute tolls on interstate highways. Those three include traffic congestion relief, reduction of vehicle emissions or the need to construct additional road infrastructure.

"That's been something I've said since day one. I don't see how the feds can approve it," said Hutchinson.

State Sen. Bob Robbins, R-Mercer, said the proposal was likely pushed through because of pressure at budget time "to get things moving."

"The comments I've gotten on the street are, everybody is opposed to (tolling)." said Robbins.

Whether PennDOT's application is successful or not, Robbins said controversies like the I-80 issue can be avoided in the future.

"There obviously has to be a legislative look at the funding of the highway system.," said Robbins. "We have some 47,000 miles of state highway, and most of it is in rural Pennsylvania."

Robbins said the 2,000 miles of state highway in the urban centers of southwestern and southeastern Pennsylvania, though more expensive to maintain, should not have priority over the other 45,000 miles.

"We're well aware of the specific concerns addressed by legislators, residents and businesses in the I-80 corridor," said Bill Capone, director of communications for the Turnpike Commission.

He said the commission has neither contacted nor heard anything from Peters' office regarding the letter.

"That's certainly their prerogative to express their point of view," said Capone.

He said the commission submitted its phase one tolling application to the federal government two months ago, and expects a response in the near future.

Then, said Capone, the commission would have to go through the 8- to 9-month process of submitting its phase two tolling application. The phase two application requires in-depth studies of economic, environmental and engineering impacts along the I-80 corridor.

A 2005 joint study, conducted by PennDOTand the Turnpike Commission has come up often during tolling arguments. It said tolling of I-80 was unnecessary, concluding the once deteriorated highway had been fixed by PennDOT.

Residents see the study as proof they're being taken advantage of, while proponents of tolling call it outdated.

A copy of the study is available on the Web page of Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), www.senatormjwhite.com.