Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court made right call on bridge tolls late last month by putting the brakes on PennDOT’s plan to electronically toll nine interstate bridges across the state.

The court ruled the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board did not seek community input on the plan to toll the bridges before it was announced in February 2021.

It wasn’t disclosed how much the toll would have been had the plan been approved, but $1 or $2 for each trip across the bridge was mentioned.

PennDOT says those nine bridges need $2.5 billion in repairs, and while none of the bridges are in Butler County, legislators opposed to the plan expect additional bridges to be tolled should the plan eventually move forward.

During a news conference last month, a coalition of state legislators recommended using bond funds and federal dollars to repair failing bridges.

State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, called the bridge-tolling plan “an ill-conceived money grab by PennDOT and the Wolf administration.”

He said the process to add tolls on the nine bridges is mired in a lack of transparency, citizen input or oversight.

“This illegal and unconstitutional scheme is a declaration of war against the economy of Pennsylvania,” Hutchinson said, calling it “an impediment to growth.”

The coalition’s main issues with the bridge tolling plan are financial impacts on small businesses, trucking companies and commuters. Motorists already paying a high cost to keep gasoline in their vehicle’s tanks would be saddled with another fee and rising prices on goods in an already inflated economy to cover fees incurred by those transporting the goods.

PennDOT released a statement after the ruling saying that the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf wants to talk with the Legislature about alternative ways to fund transportation work without having to rely on the gasoline tax.

The gas tax is inadequate to meet the state’s many transportation needs right now, and it will be even less so in the future. It’s an inconsistent funding source, vehicles have been getting better gas mileage and the electric vehicles that can operate without gasoline are steadily increasing.

Earlier this year, Wolf stood alongside U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to launch the largest bridge repair program in American history, made possible by the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Pennsylvania is set to receive $1.6 billion to fix more than 3,000 bridges across the commonwealth. It’s the third largest amount among the 50 states for bridges under the federal infrastructure bill, one of seven states to receive at least $1 billion over five years.

So why the need to tax drivers? The tolls would be an unfair and unaffordable price for motorists and commercial haulers to pay.

There needs to be some serious discussion in Harrisburg about how the money can be found to fix all the roads that desperately need patching, and build the thoroughfares that are needed to have a functioning 21st century infrastructure. But that discussion should not include having already hard-pressed drivers and the communities in which they live and work shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden.

Even without the ruling, it’s doubtful the plan to toll the bridges ever would have been enacted. Both candidates for governor in the November election – Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano – oppose it.

Our infrastructure repairs need to be funded. But it needs to be paid for in a way that is fair to everyone.

–JG