Advertisement PA Turnpike is $11 billion in debt, has missed 3 payments to the state

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is about $11 billion in debt and caught up in an ongoing lawsuit.PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards admitted the PA Turnpike Commission is behind on payments to the state.Turnpike tolls paid by drivers are supposed to go toward a $450 million payment to the state for transit projects annually.Richards said three payments have been missed. The fourth payment, which is due next month, may also be missed.A lawsuit has been filed, arguing that the state is violating federal law by using toll money for non-turnpike-related projects.Those who filed the lawsuit want PennDOT to refund the $6 billion the PA Turnpike Commission has sent them since 2007.If the PA Turnpike Commission loses the lawsuit, cuts will have to be made.During a budget hearing in Harrisburg last week, state Rep. John Lawrence asked Richards if it was possible that the turnpike might have to declare bankruptcy."I don't know, but we have to start talking about what that would mean. It would be catastrophic," Richards said.UPDATE: Turnpike spokeswoman Rosanne Placey issued the following statement to Pittsburgh's Action News 4 on Tuesday.The PA Turnpike is not in jeopardy of filing for bankruptcy. Additionally, the debt that we have carried is due, in part, to our funding obligations under Act 44 of 2007.Since 2007, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has provided $6.1 billion in funding for PennDOT's use as mandated by PA Acts 44 (2007) and 89 (2013).However, as of Spring 2018 due to a lawsuit filed by the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association and the National Motorists Association which challenges the use of toll dollars to fund off-turnpike transit projects, the PTC been precluded from making the quarterly installments of the annual $450 million in payments.