Pennsylvania court blocks Gov. Wolf's bridge tolling plan

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Thursday blocked plans to toll an Interstate 79 bridge in Allegheny County, a month after it put a halt to PennDOT’s $2 billion statewide bridge tolling plan.

In its 36-page opinion, the court said that PennDOT and the public-private partnership created to repair or replace nine bridges across Pennsylvania did not follow the proper process to identify and approve the projects.

“The board essentially approved a multibillion-dollar transportation project based on what was essentially a four-page PowerPoint recommendation from (PennDOT) that failed to delineate which, or how many, pieces of public infrastructure the initiative would affect,” wrote Judge Ellen Ceisler.

The board was required to follow Act 88, which requires public notice and an assessment of whether the proposals are in the public’s best interest.

In the case of the I-79 tolling plan, municipalities including South Fayette, Collier and Bridgeville argued that they were not given an opportunity to be heard on the project, and that the state failed to follow the proper procedures in designing and implementing the program.

The municipalities said they didn’t learn that the I-79 bridge would be part of the project until after it had already been approved. The bridge spanning Route 50 had been planned for a proposed $120 million to $150 million makeover that would include added lanes in both directions.

The municipalities filed a lawsuit against the plan in November.

In May, the Commonwealth Court granted a preliminary injunction on the I-83 bridge tolling project, which had been similarly challenged by Cumberland County and seven municipalities impacted. The court halted any further action on the entire statewide program, including studies, hearings or meetings or construction.

The Pathways Bridge Public-Private Partnership, or P3, had plans to toll as many as nine bridges to cover the costs of repairing and replacing bridges across the state. The P3 board approved a resolution approving the initiative in November 2020, but did not identify the bridges to be impacted until February 2021.

A month later, several members of the state legislature sent a letter to the P3 board chair, expressing concerns that the board did not follow the proper procedure in approving the transportation project.

Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, was among them. In a statement on Thursday, Ortitay praised the Commonwealth Court’s decision.

“The state could have saved a lot of time, millions of dollars and energy if the Wolf administration had just played by the rules to begin with and followed the law,” he said.

Ortitay urged PennDOT not to appeal the ruling.

“Instead, the agency needs to sit down and work with the General Assembly to come up with a comprehensive plan that addresses transportation needs without creating an undue burden on the commonwealth’s residents,” Ortitay said.

“Vehicles have changed. Travel habits have changed. We cannot continue to do the same things and expect a different result,” he said. “Let’s work together and come up with a solution.”

A spokeswoman for PennDOT said the agency was still reviewing the decision.

The Wolf administration issued a statement saying it wants to work with the General Assembly.

“To date, the legislature has failed to offer any solutions beyond their approval of this P3 initiative that will assist the administration’s desire to phase out the gas tax,” the administration said. “The Wolf administration continues to welcome discussions with the General Assembly on alternative funding sources that can replace the gas tax, which is no longer a dependable source of funding to meet all bridge and highway needs in this commonwealth.”

In arguing against the municipalities’ position, PennDOT argued to the court that they lacked standing to challenge the project and that they cannot argue against a harm that hasn’t yet occurred.

The court disagreed. It found that the P3 board failed to consult with any of the municipalities ahead of time or even provide notice that the I-79 bridge was a candidate for tolling.

Attorney John M. Smith, who represented the municipalities, said the legislature has already made clear it will not sign off on PennDOT’s bridge tolling plan.

“It’s unlikely PennDOT will even try to do this properly because we know it’s dead on arrival,” Smith said.