The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has sent its latest check to PennDOT, another burden that the state Legislature has imposed on a "cash cow" thought to have no limits.

The $212.5 million quarterly payment brings to $1.2 billion the amount the toll road has provided so far for state highways, bridges and public transit under terms of the Act 44 transportation funding bill of July 2007.

Where's the turnpike getting the money?

The same place as the feds: borrowing.

Who's going to pay it back for 30 years? You.

In October, the turnpike sold $411 million worth of bonds to fund the latest payment to PennDOT, plus part of the $212.5 million due in January. The turnpike will have borrowed a total of $2.5 billion to give to PennDOT over a three-year period ending June 2010, when the next transportation-funding panic sets in.

Feeding off the turnpike has become bad monetary policy in Harrisburg.

In the mid-1980s, the Legislature ordered the agency to build more toll roads, including the Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway, without providing sufficient funds. That move has added about $2 billion in debt obligations and left the turnpike searching to raise another $5 billion to finish the projects, a seemingly impossible dream.

Live for today, let somebody else put the screws to taxpayers tomorrow -- plus interest!

Fortunately, despite growing debt, the investment market that has turned down some municipal debt still sees the turnpike as a good bet, affirming the latest Moody's Investors Service rating of "Aa3" and a Standard & Poor's rating of A+ for bonds.

Experts cited the turnpike's "history of well-managed financial operations with consistently sound debt service coverage" despite its reputation for political patronage. They said a 25 percent toll increase that goes into effect Jan. 1 "supports projected profit margins."

Because the federal government rejected tolling I-80 across Pennsylvania, the turnpike's annual obligation to buoy PennDOT in lieu of a gas tax or driver's license increases will drop to $450 million a year after June 2010. The money will be divided this way: $200 million to PennDOT, $250 million to public transit, far less than either presently receives and needs.

As an option to tolling I-80, the state had an opportunity to lease the turnpike for the next 75 years for $12.8 billion in upfront money and live off the investment earnings that were projected to average 8 percent annually.

The consortium of Spain-based Abertis and New York-based Citibank submitted its bid in May. Had the bid been accepted, that nest egg would have lost approximately 33 percent of its value because of the turmoil on Wall Street. Lawmakers would have looked like fools; transportation's long-range funding problem would be far from solved.

While the turnpike still generates enough money to pay operating expenses, continue with a 1-year, $4 billion improvement program and meet debt obligations, the nation's oldest toll road nevertheless is feeling the pressure from high fuel prices and the nation's economic downturn.

Since the start of this fiscal year, traffic has fallen 1.6 percent and revenue for what truckers call the "piggy bank" has dropped 4.4 percent. Except for a period of gasoline rationing during World War II, it's the first significant drop in the 68-year history of the landmark highway.

As a result, turnpike Chief Executive Officer Joe Brimmeier has ordered cost-cutting, staff reductions and, also for the first time, voluntary buyouts for anyone in the 2,250-employee agency who wants one.

Workers have until Monday to decide upon severance benefits that include a maximum of eight weeks of pay for 20 years of service but full retiree medical benefits, even for those who have worked for the turnpike for only five years but have been in the State Employees Retirement System previously.

If not enough employees choose to leave, the turnpike is going to lay them off. It refuses to say how many may be furloughed.

In any case, when the 25 percent across-the-board toll increase goes into effect Jan. 1, the turnpike's short-term traffic and revenue picture may worsen.

Some penny-pinching truckers and trucking companies who will be asked to pony up an extra $40 to travel between the Ohio and Pennsylvania borders will go elsewhere.

I-80 is still free.

Incline on way up. The reliable ole Duquesne Heights Incline reports ridership, tourism and gift shop sales continue to increase.

Chairman Robert Fierst said additional surveillance cameras have been added, so virtually all areas of the facility can now be monitored.

The nonprofit group plans to replace gears in 75-year-old operating equipment at the Upper Station and two of the incline's three steel cables. The largest project involves structural repairs, new lights and painting the West Carson Street pedestrian bridge linking the parking lot and Lower Station.