Rally participants oppose bridge tolling initiative

On Wednesday, a group of state senators and members of the No P3 Bridge Tolls Coalition joined a rally in Harrisburg to voice opposition to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) initiative that would toll interstate bridges.

The proposed plan was advanced without legislative input or approval and is estimated to cost the average commuter an additional $1,000 annually. The plan would start with nine bridges: the I-78 Lenhartsville Bridge Replacement Project, the I-79 Widening, Bridges, and Bridgeville Interchange Reconfiguration, the I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges, the I-80 Nescopeck Creek Bridges, The I-80 North Fork Bridges Project, the I-80 Over Lehigh River Bridge Project, the I-81 Susquehanna Project I-83 South Bridge Project, and the I-95 Girard Point Bridge Improvement Project.

Members of the General Assembly, local officials, businesses, and residents oppose the plan. Cumberland County and several municipalities surrounding the I-83 candidate toll bridge challenged the plan in the Commonwealth Court as unconstitutional, and the court temporarily halted the plan with a preliminary injunction.

The court also has heard a case from several municipalities surrounding the I-79 bridge.

Senate Bill 382 would reform the statute for public-private partnerships and void PennDOT’s plan, but Gov. Tom Wolf said he will veto the bill.