PENNSYLVANIA, USA — A bit of a bombshell from PennDOT Thursday.
The agency is floating a plan to raise money by putting tolls on interstate highways across the Commonwealth.
Nine bridges are on the list to be tolled, and drivers here in northeastern and central Pennsylvania will not be spared.
Three of the nine bridges are in our area.
It includes the Nescopeck Bridge along Interstate 80 in Luzerne County, the Lehigh River Bridge on I-80 near the border of Luzerne and Carbon Counties, and the bridge along I-81 in Susquehanna County that stretches from New Milford to the New York border.
PennDOT says the tolls would cover the cost of much-needed repairs to the bridges as part of its major Public-Private Partnership or P3 Initiative.
"Many of these bridges, like I said, previously they were designed in the 1950s, they were built in the 1960s, they're in excess of 60 years of age, and they're coming to the end of their useful lifecycle," said PennDOT's Alternate Funding Director, Ken McClain.
Tolls would be collected through an E-ZPass or pay-by-plate option to the PA Turnpike, which would send the money to PennDOT.
The money would cover repairs and maintenance for 30 years.
"The implementation of bridge tolling ensures the users, including out-of-state traffic, that they contribute fairly to the placement or rehabilitation of the bridges based on usage," added McClain.
The nine bridge projects selected are spread out across Pennsylvania.
There will be an environmental study phase and public outreach, which would begin this spring.
If approved, the tolls would be between $1 and $2 for both directions and would begin, along with the construction, in 2023.