Pennsylvania Turnpike rates went up again on Sunday, and this trend is not about to stop anytime soon, writes Jon Delano for CBS News.

Pennsylvania Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said he expects to see smaller increases than the recent 5 percent in the future, but he also noted that yearly increases will continue for quite some time, possibly three decades.

The Turnpike is already the most expensive toll road in the nation.

“We are at 15 cents per mile on average,” said Compton.

That adds up to toll-by-plate across the state of more than $105, or $54 with E-ZPass. Traveling from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh costs more than $70, or around $35 with E-ZPass.

“It’s going to make getting to work even harder,” said turnpike customer Danielle Heinbaugh. “I don’t make a lot of money to begin with. Having to pay increased rates is just the worst.”

According to Compton, higher tolls became inevitable after the Legislature required the Turnpike to give $450 million a year to PennDOT, for a total of $8 billion.

“Each year that we had to put that money in, we basically signed a 30-year mortgage,” said Compton.

Read more about the Pennsylvania Turnpike at CBS News.

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