In February, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced plans to toll vehicles using nine Interstate bridges, including one carrying Interstate 80 over the Lehigh River.

There has been vocal opposition from people who live and have businesses near the bridges. They are concerned about the cost for drivers, and the impact of people using other roads to avoid the bridges.

Legislators have tried to change the law to block Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration from pursuing it without legislative approval.

PennDOT wants to charge a toll on nine bridges around the commonwealth, and use the money to pay to replace them.

The agency says the tolls are needed because its annual budget is only half of what it needs to fund necessary highway repairs around the state.

Republican lawmakers say that it is unnecessary due to the recent federal infrastructure bill.

The toll would only be charged to eastbound drivers, according to PennDOT.

The other bridges proposed for tolls are along Interstate 78 in Berks County; Interstate 80 in Luzerne, Jefferson and Clarion counties; Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County; Interstate 83 in Dauphin County; and Philadelphia’s Girard Point Bridge.

The agency is allowed to enact new tolls to fund certain highway projects through its public-private partnership (P3) program. But legislators say it was only meant for new highways, not repairs to existing ones.

In November, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow them to approve or deny any new tolls proposed by PennDOT. Wolf says he opposes the bill.

In December, PennDOT held a public meeting at Split Rock Resort. They discussed local issues like improving Route 940 in anticipation of vehicles avoiding the toll.

Representatives said tolls could be between $1-2 for cars and $6-$12 for trucks. Tolls would remain in place for 30 years, the term of the loan which PennDOT plans to use to fund the bridge replacement.