PennDOT toll plan blocked

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has no authority to implement a toll plan on nine bridges across the state, including Interstate 79, according to a ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on June 30.

This decision came after a lawsuit was filed by South Fayette Township, Bridgeville Borough and Collier Township in November 2021. The lawsuit, which named PennDOT, the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board, and Yassmin Gramian P.E. (chairperson of the board), alleged the bridge tolling plan was in violation of Act 88 of 2012.

Act 88 authorizes public-private transportation projects in the state. The two basic public-private partnership projects are new-build facilities and improve existing facilities, according to a fact sheet on PennDOT’s website.

The I-79 Bridge is partially in South Fayette Township and Bridgeville Borough and borders Collier Township. These petitioners were affected persons under the terms of Act 88, said the court.

In November 2020, the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board voted to toll interstate bridges in need of replacement or repair. These tolls were to be used for the repairs, and a private firm would be contracted to complete the work.

However, the bridges affected were not properly listed nor were the affected municipalities properly consulted, according to the lawsuit.

The Pennsylvania court ruled the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board “essentially approved a multibillion dollar transportation project based on what was essentially a four-page PowerPoint recommendation from DOT that failed to delineate which, or how many, pieces of public infrastructure the initiative would affect,” said the court.

Previous ruling

An injunction on this issue had been in place since May 18. That ruling ordered PennDOT to stop any work related to the nine-bridge toll plan until the court reached an opinion on the matter. LL