Highway Construction Group Opposes Tolls on Pa. Bridges

The Associated Press reports a highway construction trade association is against a plan to toll up to nine major bridges around Pennsylvania that are in need of repairs, including a span in Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County.

The opposition comes even though Governor Tom Wolf’s top transportation official disputes criticisms of the idea.

The Associated Pennsylvania Constructors' executive vice president, Robert Latham, told the House Transportation Committee on March 25 that private financing would drive up project costs. Latham also says relying on tolling to cover construction costs is risky.  

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However, Transportation Secretary Yassmin Gramian said she expects the projects to be financed with lower-cost municipal bonds. In addition, she says financing the reconstruction projects is less risky because the bridges have stable daily traffic flows.

The plan calls for structures to be placed at bridges in need of repair to record EZPass and license plate information to send drivers a bill for passing over the spans.  The money collected from the tolls would go back into paying for the repairs on that particular bridge according to information provided earlier this year by PennDOT.