Facing growing demands on its highways, Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation is considering adding tolls to nine bridges on six interstates to help generate the cash to repair them.

PennDOT said work on the bridges would be costly — easily climbing into billions of dollars — and could take years to complete.

The state wants to use tolls to pay for the replacement, maintenance and operation of the bridges, freeing $1.6 billion to $2.2 billion for use on other projects. Car tolls would be $1 to $2, but a rate for trucks hasn’t been determined.

Under the program, PennDOT will solicit proposals from private contractors to design, improve and maintain the bridges over a long-term period. Gantries installed at the bridges would read E-ZPass transponders or license plates to collect fees.

The Federal Highway Administration will review and decide whether tolls can be charged, but the state will determine the amount.

However, several Republican senators are sponsoring a resolution to stop the proposed tolls, saying it would hurt the economy. Trucking industry associations also oppose it.

State lawmakers unhappy with the tolls were reminded that they were warned about that prospect when they passed legislation in 2012 delegating approval to appointees of the governor.

All Butler County state legislators voted to delegate the power to the governor’s appointees.

The Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board, created by a 2012 law, in November voted for the very first time to approve toll projects. The “major bridge” program allows the Department of Transportation to toll bridges to fund improvements.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Blair, said he is concerned about what he called “PennDOT’s authority to essentially tax and appropriate funds without additional oversight from the General Assembly.”

He is drafting legislation, he said, to strengthen the opportunity for public input and the Legislature’s oversight of the tolling projects.

And The Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, which represents about 1,400 trucking firms, also opposes the proposal. The group contends truckers already pay enough as a result of the state’s gas tax, which is second highest in the country.

The association estimates costs for trucking companies have increased by $7,000 per 100,000 miles driven since 2013. It claims truckers account for about 9% of miles driven in the state but they pay about 40% of transportation costs through taxes and Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls.

PennDOT said its current highway and bridge budget for construction and maintenance is about $6.9 billion per year, less than half of the $15 billion that is needed to keep Pennsylvania’s highways and bridges in good condition and ease major traffic bottlenecks.

Pennsylvania’s gasoline taxes are among the nation’s highest, after a 2013 law raised taxes and motorist fees in an attempt to boost highway funding by more than $2 billion a year, or by about 50%.

It’s a situation where there are no good options, but ignoring it could have tragic consequences.

Something must be done soon to repair these bridges.

—JGG