HARRISBURG (TNS) — The Commonwealth Court issued a ruling Thursday declaring the state Department of Transportation violated the law when it initiated its plan to toll nine interstate bridges across Pennsylvania.
By declaring the initiative void ad initio — meaning it is void of having any legal effect — opponents of the tolling concept began taking a victory lap and expressed hopes this decision is the final word on the bridge initiative.
“Today’s decision is a win for all Pennsylvanians, a win for all those who stood with us fighting this oppressive overreach, and a win for Pennsylvania businesses who were arbitrarily shut out of the process,” said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria County.
Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland County, said, “I urge PennDOT to not appeal this ruling and I hope the General Assembly, impacted communities and PennDOT can come together to work on a solution that addresses our bridge and infrastructure needs.”
The ruling written by Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler on behalf of seven of the court’s judges was on a lawsuit filed by three Allegheny County municipalities that opposed the proposed tolling of the I-79 bridge project to pay for improvements. However, it applies to all nine bridges that PennDOT proposed tolling to pay for their repairs or replacement.
Those bridges include I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges in Clarion County and I-80 North Fork Bridges Project in Jefferson County.
In the lawsuit, the municipalities contended the Public-Private Partnership Board’s actions “completely evade” the legislative intent of the law that created the Board by failing to identify specific bridges when it they approved the initiative. That broke with the requirement to consult with persons affected before approval as the law required.
Instead, Ceisler wrote, “The board essentially approved a multi-billion-dollar transportation project based on what was essentially a four-page powerpoint recommendation from [PennDOT] that failed to delineate” which bridges or how many bridges it would affect.
A separate lawsuit filed by Cumberland County and seven municipalities over the proposed tolling of the I-83 South Bridge temporarily halted all work on this PennDOT initiative. That case is now on appeal to the state Supreme Court.
The bridge tolling concept was approved by the Public-Private Partnership Board — comprising four legislative and one gubernatorial appointee – in November 2020 as a way to repair or replace interstate bridges but did not identify which ones. Three months later, PennDOT announced which nine bridges it considered as candidates for tolling as a means of paying for their combined $2.2 billion estimated price tag.
Opposition to imposing a toll on the bridges began to build as soon as the list of bridges was released. Concerns were voiced about the impact it could have on traffic volumes on local roads from motorists trying to avoid the tolls as well as safety concerns that raises and the negative impact traffic congestion could have on businesses along those roads.
Since announcing which bridges were candidates for tolling, PennDOT has spent in excess of $14 million to study those bridges and identified a private partner to oversee the design, build and maintenance work on the bridges.
