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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Starting Sunday, Pennsylvania&#8217;s gas tax &#8212; the nation&#8217;s highest &#8212; will increase by another 8 cents per gallon.</p><p>With the increase, drivers will pay about 78 cents per gallon in taxes &#8212; up from just under 70 cents this year. In 2017 the state gas tax portion will be about 58 cents per gallon, while federal tax will take up 18.4 cents per gallon and an underground storage tank fee will be 1.1 cents per gallon.</p><p>The state&#8217;s wholesale gas tax funds road construction and infrastructure maintenance.</p><p>According to an Associated Press story, Pennsylvania has the nation&#8217;s fifth-largest road network, with more road miles than New York, New Jersey and all the New England states combined, said James May, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.</p><p>May said PennDOT has fixed thousands of structurally deficient bridges and boosted road construction spending by about $1 billion, paving the way for about 25,000 new construction jobs.</p><p>According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, Act 89 completely eliminated Pennsylvania&#8217;s 12-cent per gallon retail Liquid Fuels tax by uncapping the wholesale tax called the Oil Company Franchise Tax (OCFT) over a five-year period to make up for the lost 12 cents at the pump. The first two phases of the uncapping went into effect January 2014 and 2015, respectively.</p><p>&#8220;Despite the fact that Pennsylvania has the highest state gas taxes in the country, we still aren&#8217;t in the top 5 nationally in terms of gas prices,&#8221; says Jana Tidwell, Manager of Public and Government Affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic.</p><p>Pennsylvania&#8217;s Act 89 created the most comprehensive transportation legislation in decades, designed to address the Commonwealth&#8217;s deficient roads and bridges, which have a trickle-down effect to motorists if not properly maintained, AAA reported. Unsafe or deficient roads cost Pennsylvania motorists as much as an additional $1,800 annually per driven in the Philadelphia region due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays.</p><p>According to AAA Mid-Atlantic:</p><p>&#8226; At the time of the transportation funding bill&#8217;s passage, 36 percent of Pennsylvania&#8217;s major roads were rated in poor or mediocre condition and 44 percent of Pennsylvania bridges, (average age 50 years old), were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.</p><p>&#8226; The Act 89 transportation investment is estimated to generate a net of 62,000 jobs &#8212; 50,000 new jobs created, and 12,000 additional jobs preserved.</p><p>&#8226; Thousands of bridges and more than 10,000 roadway miles will be improved or rebuilt.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

PA gas tax remains highest in U.S. as final Act 89 increase takes effect Jan. 1