GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Opponents of tolling Interstate 80 yesterday vowed to continue fighting what they see as a scheme to siphon money to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia from the state's rural northern tier.

"Folks, we are up against Philadelphia," thundered state Rep. Michele Brooks, R-Mercer, after reading portions of a Philadelphia newspaper editorial supporting the tolls.

She was one of about 60 people who gathered for release of a report that raised economic and safety concerns about the state's 2-year-old plan to raise money for highways, bridges and public transit with I-80 tolls.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is preparing to revive its application to the Federal Highway Administration for permission to toll the 311-mile east-west highway. It is a key piece of Act 44, passed by the Legislature in 2007 to solve chronic shortfalls in transportation funding.

Tracy C. Miller, an associate professor of economics at Grove City College who was asked by tolling opponents to study the issue, said trucks and cars that use I-80 already generate $130 million in fuel taxes and fees per year, well above the $80 million that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spends on maintaining the highway.

Dr. Miller also asserted that truck traffic diverted onto secondary roads to avoid the tolls would increase crashes, causing two to four additional deaths and 100 to 200 more injuries per year.

"Trucks do divert to avoid tolls that reduce their income," he said.

Businesses employing 75,000 would be socked with higher costs that would cause them to hire less and pay lower wages, and ultimately would raise consumer prices. And the plan calls for billions in borrowing that could become a "major long-term burden for Pennsylvania taxpayers and motorists," he said.

The report "is solid evidence of what we already suspected about the tolling of I-80 -- that it's bad for Western Pennsylvania," said U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Erie, one of a host of government leaders and businesspeople who denounced the plan.

"Given the state of our economy, putting any more jobs at risk would be utterly irresponsible," she said.

Troy Hill, past president of the Mercer County Farm Bureau, said tolls would hurt the agriculture sector, raising the price of feed and supplies coming in and products like milk going out.

But the principal theme of yesterday's meeting was that the tolls would take from rural areas for the enrichment of the state's urban centers.

"A majority of it goes to the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. It's funding for their mass transit and infrastructure needs," said state Sen. Robert Robbins, R-Mercer.

"They want to take our money and use it for their transit systems and roads," agreed state Rep. Scott Hutchinson, R-Venango.

Turnpike CEO Joe Brimmeier issued a statement saying the commission would consider the report as it presses ahead.

"In the past two years, we've heard loud and clear that businesspeople and elected officials in the I-80 corridor are concerned about the effects of increased transportation costs, and I reassure them that we share those concerns," he said. "Though we've not yet seen the study, our economic team will evaluate the data from the document and consider its conclusions."

Mr. Brimmeier said if the state gets the go-ahead from the federal government, its own economic analysis would also examine the benefits of tolls, including the impact of increased capital spending.

If I-80 is not tolled and no other funding is substituted, Act 44 funding of highways and transit would drop from $900 million annually to $450 million starting in July.

PennDOT statewide would get $300 million less in highway and bridge funding and transit agencies would lose $150 million. That would curtail road and bridge repairs and trigger new financial emergencies at transit agencies like the Port Authority and Philadelphia's SEPTA.

No one at yesterday's session offered a specific alternative for replacing the toll revenue.

"Our government has a massive spending problem, not an income problem," said Richard Beech, CEO of George J. Howe Co., Grove City purveyor of nuts, candy and coffee.

"We do need to find a way to fund long-term transportation needs in Pennsylvania," said state Rep. Dick Stevenson, R-Grove City. "We do want to have first-class highways … there are better ways to do it than by tolling I-80."

He said later that public-private partnerships should be explored to finance projects.

Robert Latham, executive vice president of Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, a Harrisburg-based trade association of construction companies and suppliers, said in a telephone interview that his organization supports tolls on I-80 and all interstate highways.

"It's the clearest form of user fee," he said.

He disputed Dr. Miller's findings, saying the corridor along the turnpike hasn't suffered economically from tolls and is "in much better shape" than many communities along I-80.

He also doubted that truckers would desert the expressway for untolled secondary roads, saying the wasted time and fuel would exceed the cost of tolls.

Dr. Miller's report can be viewed at callclarionpa.com.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.