Local lawmakers are joining state Republicans in soliciting views on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s bridge toll proposal. A “Stop the Tolls” petition is active on the Republican site.

PennDOT plans to impose tolls includes two bridges on Interstate 80 that span the Lehigh River in the White Haven area of Carbon County.

State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said he believes the tolling of I-80 and any bridges is unnecessary.

“Pennsylvania has the second-highest gas tax in the nation, so it’s hard to fathom how PennDOT doesn’t have enough money to do its job,” Heffley said. “But officials claim the tolls of $1-$2 per trip per bridge are needed to fund $2.2 billion worth of repairs or replacement of the structures.”

PennDOT says the tolls are needed to offset a $450 million drop in revenue to pay for a much-needed bridge replacement project. The project is expected to cost in the range of $47 million to $52 million.

“PennDOT is attributing their 8.1 billion funding gap on volatile economic conditions due to COVID and increasing alternative fuel sources. It is not fair to further burden the people of Pennsylvania with the inefficient spending of PennDOT.”

Heffley said it would affect commuters and would curb the ability to attract jobs.

“This is not what the General Assembly had in mind when it authorized public-private partnerships for transportation projects back in 2012. If a project needs funding and we must wait for a year due to COVID effects, then we should do that instead of taxing Pennsylvanians.”

Heffley said some proposals are moving in the house to prevent PennDOT’s plan.

“Definitely we’re going to take action to prevent this,” he said. “Unfortunately, it will wind up in the courts; that’s why it’s important for people to vote for good judges to prevent this from happening.”

Heffley said most feedback has been against the plan. “It’s really going to hurt commuters and businesses in that area; this will be devastating.”

State Sen. Jack Rader, R-Monroe, noted that the gas tax was previously raised to cover future needs for construction.

“I’m not for raising taxes, especially (for those) doing local driving, it’s very costly (for the people) that drive around the bridge areas,” Rader said. “And now with the COVID money coming in from the federal government, hopefully we can use some of that.”

Rader offered another potential solution.

“The way the economy has been, put some construction off for a year; I think that’s a legitimate way of getting around it,” he said. “I’m always willing to work with what we have.”

State Sen. John Yudichak, I-Carbon/Luzerne, said he has concerns about the proposal.

“I’m raising concerns about the economic impact this will have on northeastern PA,” Yudichak said. “This may be a serious setback.”

Yudichak said investing in infrastructure is the right thing to do. However, “We need to do a better job on how we fund road and bridge maintenance in PA. These concerns have to be answered before we go forward.”

He said the automotive industry is moving toward the production of electric cars and Pa. relies on gas taxes to fund transportation projects. “PennDOT’s plan to toll highways, like I-80 in the Greater Hazleton corridor, appears to be a very shortsighted fix to a problem that requires a much more robust, comprehensive transportation funding plan to build a 21st century infrastructure network that can sustain our rapidly growing e-commerce logistics industry in northeastern Pennsylvania,” Yudichak said.

He calls on the U.S. Congress to deliver a transportation funding bill.

The project

The I-80 Over Lehigh River Bridge Project would replace both east and westbound spans. Built in 1965, the bridges cross over the Lehigh River, Lehigh Gorge State Park, Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad and River Road in Carbon and Luzerne counties.

They carry an average of 27,400 vehicles per day, with 44% truck traffic.

The spans are beyond repair and need to be replaced. The new bridges would be wider; the length of the eastbound on-ramp auxiliary lane would be increased, as would the height of the bridges’ barriers and the width of the shoulders.

The project would begin between 2023 and 2025, and take two or three years, according to PennDOT.

The department is studying how the tolls may impact local communities, and how alternate routes to avoid the toll may impact local traffic and roadways.

PennDOT expects to present its findings in the spring, and will hold either a virtual or in-person public meeting to discuss them and give people a chance to comment.

The department will also share project details, including engineering design, environmental impacts, construction schedule, maintenance and protection of traffic during construction and access to Lehigh Gorge State Park and boat launches in the park.

To sign the petition, visit https://bit.ly/3cgQF1W.