PennDOT Bridge Tolling Plan To Get Court Challenge

BRIDGEVILLE, PA — Three southwestern Pennsylvania communities are expected to file a lawsuit against PennDOT on Friday to stop the agency from tolling a bridge near the I-79 Bridgeville Exit. The litigation could have a ripple effect on PennDOT's plan to toll as many as eight other bridges in Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit will be filed Friday in Commonwealth Court by the municipalities of South Fayette, Bridgeville, according to officials of the communities and state Rep. Jason Oritay, who represents all three suburban Pittsburgh towns.

PennDOT in September moved forward with plans to toll the spans by inviting three firms to submit proposals on how they would partner with the agency to repair or replace them. Money for the projects would come from the tolls.

The tolls would help pay for the following projects:

• I-79 Widening, Bridges and Bridgeville Interchange Reconfiguration (Allegheny County)
• I-95 Girard Point Bridge Improvement Project (Philadelphia County)
• I-78 Lenhartsville Bridge Replacement (Berks County)
• I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges (Clarion County)
• I-80 Nescopeck Creek Bridges (Luzerne County)
• I-80 North Fork Bridges Project (Jefferson County)
• I-80 Over Lehigh River Bridge Project (Luzerne and Carbon counties)
• I-81 Susquehanna Project (Susquehanna County)
• I-83 South Bridge Project (Dauphin County)

The tolling, expected to go into effect in 2023, would be collected via E-Z Pass or license plate billing. PennDOT has not indicated how much the tolls could be, but the money collected would be used to pay the private contractors to repair and maintain the bridges for as long as 30 years.

The lawsuit is expected to contend the process used by PennDOT’s Public-Private Partnership (P3) board to choose the bridges for tolling was flawed. He said the the inclusion of the Bridgeville span in the tolling plan doesn't make sense.

"This bridge is nowhere near the end of its life span," he said. "Instead, there are plans to add a third lane. While this addition would improve traffic flow, there is no danger that needs
addressed immediately and certainly not with this tolling proposal. "

With Congress passing a $1 trillion infrastructure bill last week, Oritay questioned the need for tolling on any of the bridges. Pennsylvania will receive $4 billion in new federal and highway funding as part of the infrastructure package.

"This significant investment should have ended PennDOT’s tolling plan immediately," Oritay said. "To say that I am disappointed at PennDOT’s refusal to drop this ludicrous proposal would be an understatement."

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