Bridges need to be repaired so that people can continue to use them.
That doesn’t seem to be a hard idea to process. The bridges were built for a reason. They need to be used to get from one place to another by going over something else. Sometimes they cross water. Sometimes they go over another road. Whatever they cross, bridges built for modern transportation are expensive propositions that are constructed only after lots of planning and research decides they are worth the effort.
So why build a bridge only to encourage people not to use it?
PennDOT has identified the Interstate 79 bridge that spans Route 50 in Bridgeville and South Fayette for a $120 million to $150 million makeover that would include additional north-and southbound lanes.
That’s a big project, but PennDOT does big projects all of the time. What makes this different is that it is part of something even bigger — a $2.2 billion plan to redo up to nine bridges across the state — that could be funded with an unpopular source. The department has proposed tolling the bridges as part of a public-private partnership.
The municipalities most affected — Bridgeville, South Fayette and adjoining Collier — have stepped up to formally declare their opposition by filing a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court to stop the project.
“The Bridgeville Bridge Toll Project will have a significant impact upon the local governments by shifting traffic from the interstate onto local roads for those seeking to avoid tolls imposed,” the suit states.
If that happens, the financial cost to the municipalities could be far greater than any benefit from the bridge. That would put residents in the municipality in the unenviable position of paying for a bridge through tolls if they want to use it while they also pay with their taxes for the impact of those who don’t use it.
PennDOT projects are generally long on planning, including exhaustive impact studies that examine every angle. The state should take a closer look at exactly what it is requiring of the people who live closest to the bridge before shifting it into drive.
