HARRISBURG – Today, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania granted a preliminary injunction stopping Gov. Wolf’s plan to toll nine major bridges across the state until further court action occurs, according to Sen. Devlin Robinson (R-37). The tolling plan would include the I-79 bridge in Bridgeville.
“Members of the General Assembly, local officials and Pennsylvania taxpayers have voiced their strong opposition for PennDOT’s bridge tolling plan,” said Robinson. “That is why I was determined to assist in creating legislation that would reform the Public Private Partnership (P3) statute and void PennDOT’s tolling plan. I praise the Commonwealth Court on their ruling today and commend the local officials of the county and municipalities that challenged this unconstitutional overreach.”
The bridge tolling initiative would cost the average commuter an additional $1,000 per year and was moved through the process without legislative input nor approval. The Commonwealth Court sided with a county and several municipalities that challenged the bridge tolling plan as unconstitutional.
The Senate Transportation Committee held several hearings throughout the state to better understand how PennDOT was authorized to move forward without approval from the General Assembly.
This order halts PennDOT’s tolling of the following bridges:
- 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
- I-95 Girard Point Improvement Bridge Project in Philadelphia County
CONTACT: Elizabeth Weitzel