HARRISBURG -- The campaign against tolling Interstate 80 is gaining momentum, as a state legislator tries to repeal the July law that authorized the tolls and truckers prepare for a rally at the Capitol on Monday.

State Rep. Scott Hutchinson, R-Venango, is sponsoring a bill to repeal Act 44, a transportation funding measure the Legislature passed in July. It calls for increasing Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls by 25 percent starting in 2009 and imposing first-time tolls on I-80, a 311-mile, four-lane highway across northern Pennsylvania from Ohio to New Jersey.

"The reaction I've gotten from people in my area is overwhelmingly against the tolls on I-80," Mr. Hutchinson said yesterday. "The highway is very much tied to the economy of our area, which has struggled, and if we make that artery less economically viable, we'll really be in trouble.''

He said he's seeking co-sponsors for his repeal bill, which he'll introduce within two weeks. Act 44 passed 124-79 on July 17, so at least 23 House members would have to change their votes to repeal it.

Some truckers' groups also don't want to pay tolls on I-80. One, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, plans to demonstrate on the state Capitol steps at noon Monday in favor of Mr. Hutchinson's bill.

U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Venango, who has proposed federal legislation to block the tolls, said yesterday he'll be at the protest. "With every breath in my body I will fight to keep tolls off I-80,'' he said.

Act 44 is intended to generate $950 million a year for 10 years, to repair hundreds of miles of roads and ailing bridges and bail out mass transit agencies including the Allegheny County Port Authority. Act 44 provides $55 million for the Port Authority this year to erase a budget deficit, and if the I-80 tolls are repealed, that funding could be in jeopardy.

Act 44 was drafted mainly by Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, when Gov. Ed Rendell's first choice for transportation funding -- leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private operator -- got little support from legislators.

Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said the plan to put tolls on I-80 "was a compromise suggested by the Legislature, and signed by the governor, as a way to address the state's transportation funding crisis.'' If legislators repeal Act 44, he said, they must develop alternate funding sources because of the crucial need to repair roads, bridges and mass transit.

Since the plan to toll I-80 was approved, a wave of opposition has set in, especially in northwestern and north central Pennsylvania.

Mr. Peterson and a Republican congressman from the Erie area, Phil English, have submitted legislation to prevent any federal funds to be used for tolling I-80. There's also a broader bill in Congress to prevent the tolling of any existing highway that was paid for with federal funds. Congress is expected to vote on those measures this fall.

If either is approved -- a big "if" because Democrats control Congress -- it would prevent the U.S. Transportation Department from considering an application from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to toll I-80 and take jurisdiction over that road.

Mr. Peterson said tolling I-80 will increase transportation costs for many businesses in his district, and could cost a trucker as much as $151 to cross from Ohio to New Jersey. Turnpike Commission Executive Director Joseph Brimmeier said that estimate is high, and the cost would be in the range of $96.

Mr. Peterson said the governor's idea to lease the turnpike to a private operator deserves serious consideration in Harrisburg, and urged Mr. Rendell to meet with legislative leaders of both parties to discuss terms of such a lease. Mr. Hutchinson also said the leasing idea should be looked at.

Mr. Rendell signed Act 44 even though he prefers leasing the turnpike. He thinks such a lease could produce up to $1.7 billion a year for transportation fixes, which is considerably more than Act 44 will produce.

Mr. Brimmeier said he's carrying out Act 44 because that's the current law, and if the Legislature changes its mind, he'll deal with whatever new law is enacted.

"We are moving forward under Act 44,'' he said. "We are waiting for the federal government to get back to us [on the toll application]. If the Legislature changes Act 44, we'll adhere to what they tell us to do.''