The Commonwealth Court issued a ruling on Thursday declaring the state Department of Transportation violated the law when it initiated its plan to toll nine interstate bridges across Pennsylvania, including the I-83 South Bridge in Harrisburg.
By declaring this 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-78 Lenhartsville Bridge Replacement Project in Berks County;
- I-79 Widening, Bridges and Bridgeville Interchange Reconfiguration in Allegheny County;
- I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges in Clarion County;
- I-80 Nescopeck Creek Bridges in Luzerne County;
- I-80 North Fork Bridges Project in Jefferson County;
- I-80 Over Lehigh River Bridge Project in Luzerne and Carbon Counties;
- I-81 Susquehanna Project in Susquehanna County;
- I-83 South Bridge Project in Dauphin County; and
- I-95 Girard Point Improvement Bridge Project in Philadelphia County.
“The Wolf Administration continues to welcome discussions with the General Assembly on alternative funding sources that can replace the gas tax, which is no longer a dependable source of funding to meet all bridge and highway needs in this commonwealth,” said PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell.
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 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.
“We remain hopeful that PennDOT will give more consideration to the impact of its decisions on Pennsylvania residents and stop wasting valuable taxpayer money on its illegal initiative,” said Lee Stinnett, who serves as solicitor to several of the Cumberland County municipalities involved in that lawsuit.
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.
In the lawsuits, the local government officials asserted the Public-Private Partnership Board did not follow the steps set out in law for approval of this kind of infrastructure initiative, including not consulting with persons impacted by the project. Further, they argued that the General Assembly wasn’t given an adequate opportunity to weigh in on the project.
PennDOT lawyers countered those claims saying no final decision on the tolling of any of the bridges had yet been made. They also argued that extensive research led to the Public-Private Partnership Board’s unanimous decision to approve the bridge tolling concept as a way to pay for work on some critical bridges across the state without diverting money from other road and bridge projects.
Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Allegheny County, sat in on the hearing on the Allegheny County municipalities case heard by the full court. From the arguments, he said, “it was clear PennDOT “doesn’t have a leg to stand on pushing this boondoggle. The state could have saved a lot of time, millions of dollars and energy if the Wolf Administration had just played by the rules to begin with and followed the law.”
He shared Delozier’s hope that PennDOT does not appeal the court’s decision and instead works with the General Assembly to come up with a comprehensive plan addressing the state’s transportation needs “without creating an undue burden on the commonwealth’s residents.”
Senate GOP leaders issued a joint statement about the ruling calling it a victory for the Pennsylvania motorists who would have been impacted by bridge tolling scheme.
“The new tolls would have taken more money out of the pockets of drivers at a time when families can least afford new financial burdens – all without being properly vetted or approved by the people’s elected representatives,” according to the statement from Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County; Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County; and Langerholc.
“For years, the Wolf Administration has repeatedly tried to exceed its authority and ignore the separation of powers in state government. We are thankful the Commonwealth Court prevented this plan from being implemented. Government functions best when all parties are involved in negotiating a final product together. We remain ready and willing to engage with Governor Wolf, our colleagues in the House, and all other stakeholders to discuss how we should fund our road and bridge projects moving forward.”
* This post has been updated to add comments from PennDOT’s spokeswoman, Senate Republican leaders and attorney Lee Stinnett.
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
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