HARRISBURG – Senator Devlin Robinson (R-37), who has been an outspoken critic of the Wolf Administration plan to toll nine Pennsylvania bridges including the one on I-79 in Bridgeville, issued the following statement after PennDOT issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Major Bridge Public-Private Transportation Partnership (P3) Initiative:
“The Wolf Administration continues to move full steam ahead with a project that will place a tax on residents and was planned not only with zero input from the legislature but also lacked an impact study and a clear project scope. In light of the $279 million in federal funding to support highway and bridge improvement projects that the General Assembly provided just three days ago, at the very least, the scope of the P3 project should be re-evaluated.
“Instead, Governor Wolf puts his hand out to happily accept that funding while he uses the other hand to reach into residents’ pockets for more of their hard-earned money. Today’s move by PennDOT only underscores the importance of passing legislation so we can rein in PennDOT and the P3 board. We must give a voice to the people who will be paying this tax.”
Robinson has been a vocal opponent of the P3 tolling plan which PennDOT authorized without providing details or seeking approval from the General Assembly. He co-sponsored and voted to approve Senate Bill 382, which reforms the P3 statute and voids the PennDOT plan to toll:
- 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.
Contact: Elizabeth Weitzel