Republicans continue push against tolling 9 state bridges

In an effort to keep the pressure on, the head of the state Senate Transportation Committee continued pushing Wednesday for the state House to block proposed tolling on nine bridges across the state.

The state Department of Transportation earlier this year proposed replacing nine bridges by turning them over to private contractors and charging tolls to cover the costs. The bridges include the Interstate 79 bridge near Bridgeville.

Instead, Sen. Wayne Langholc Jr., R-Cambria, told a Harrisburg news conference he wants to repeal the tolling option, which was allowed through a public-private partnership board without legislative involvement, and pass a series of changes for transportation funding called the Driving Safely Act. A bill he introduced on tolling was approved by the Senate, but no action has been taken in the House.

“There must be a better way” than charging tolls, which would “crush local jobs and development” as communities are trying to recover from the pandemic, the senator said. He called the package he proposed, which includes using federal funds to support $2 billion in bonds, “a better alternative” that should spur bipartisan discussion.

“This is a starting point where we have identified what we feel are real solutions that don’t require more taxes on Pennsylvanians,” he said.

Rebecca Oyer, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, called tolls in limited areas “punitive taxes” that would hurt small trucking companies.

“We don’t need the state to determine who the winners and losers are depending on which side of the bridge you are on,” she said.

Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R- Monessen, said tolls would “inhibit commerce” at a time when communities are trying to recover from the pandemic.

“It’s going to be devastating,” she said of the effect tolls would have on nearby roads when trucks avoid toll areas. “We’re going to see a higher need for restoring those local roads.”

In an email response, PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell said the department was “pleased to see the active discussion around transportation funding,” but she cautioned that issuing bonds may not be the answer because it would cost the state about $100 million a year to pay them off. That would be money taken away from road work, where the state estimates it already is short more than $8 billion on what it should spend every year.

“The department’s [proposal] would pay for itself through toll revenues and free up resources to make other projects possible,” she said. “Conversely, paying for these bridges through bonding will take away funding from other projects for the total duration of the bond issuance via debt service payments.”

Gov. Tom Wolf has appointed a Transportation Revenue Options Commission to recommend changes to transportation funding. Its report is due by August.