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Commonwealth Court slams brakes on PennDOT’s bridge tolling drive

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Commonwealth Court has slammed the brakes on a plan by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to toll nine interstate bridges in the state, including the Interstate 79 bridge at the Bridgeville exchange.

In a unanimous decision released Thursday, the court said the plan to toll the bridges to cover the costs of refurbishing them did not pass muster because the communities in which the bridges are located were not consulted before the plan was announced in February 2021. This violated provisions of Act 88, according to the decision, which was approved in 2012 and authorizes public-private partnerships for transportation projects.

South Fayette Township, where the exchange is located, filed a lawsuit in November to stop the project, and it was joined by Collier Township and Bridgeville borough, the two other communities that would have been most immediately impacted if the bridge had been tolled. The defendants in the suit were PennDOT, PennDOT Secretary Yassim Gramian and the state’s Public-Private Transportation Partnership (P3) Board.

Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote, “Based on the record before us, we are compelled to conclude that the (P3) board did not consult with affected persons before approving the initiative. Instead, DOT purported to do so afterward once specific bridges were announced. This is inconsistent with Act 88’s procedural framework…”

The decision also states that the P3 board “essentially approved a multibillion-dollar transportation plan based on what was essentially a four-page PowerPoint recommendation from DOT that failed to delineate which, or how many, pieces of public infrastructure the initiative would affect.”

Following the announcement that the I-79 bridge could be tolled, civic leaders and business owners in South Fayette, Bridgeville and Collier voiced instant and vehement opposition. They argued that placing a toll on the bridge, which could have been as much as $1 or $2 each way, would hinder economic development in their communities and increase the amount of traffic on battered roads already clogged with vehicles, as drivers on I-79 looked for ways to bypass the tolls. They also said it would impose a burden on residents who have to travel I-79 daily.

According to Gwen A. Rodi, president of the South Fayette Township Board of Commissioners, “The ruling is a great relief to the many residents, business owners and local employees who have been worried about the financial burden of paying tolls on I-79.”

If the plan had come to fruition, the I-79 bridge and the eight other bridges would have been tolled through a public-private partnership. Private contractors would have handled design and construction chores and been paid through tolls that would have been collected from drivers. One additional lane would have also been added in each direction near the I-79 bridge. The bridge was built in 1965 and last rehabilitated in 1998.

Proponents argued that the tolls were necessary because the gasoline tax no longer adequately covers the state’s many transportation needs, and the money that does come from the tax should be directed to local projects. Gov. Tom Wolf has, in fact, voiced support for phasing out the gas tax, saying it offers an inconsistent source of funding for transportation.

A statement released Thursday by PennDOT on behalf of the Wolf administration said, “To date, the Legislature has failed to offer any solutions beyond their approval of this P3 initiative, that will assist the administration’s desire to phase out the gas tax. The Wolf administration continues to welcome discussions with the General Assembly on alternative funding sources that can replace the gas tax, which is no longer a dependable source of funding to meet all the bridge and highway needs in this commonwealth.”

State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Cecil, who spearheaded opposition to the tolling plan, said PennDOT “needs to sit down and work with the General Assembly to come up with a comprehensive plan that addresses transportation needs without creating an undue burden on the commonwealth’s residents.”

He added, “South Fayette Township should be commended for stepping up and filing the original lawsuit.”

None of the other bridges that were being considered for tolling are in the Pittsburgh region. The court issued a temporary injunction against the plan in May.

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