GREAT BEND, Pa. — The Great Bend-Hallstead exit (230) off Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County is due for repair in the next few years and PennDOT has proposed installing an electronic toll, that would use E-ZPass or pay-by-plate collection for drivers who pass through the area. The funds collected would be used to pay for the construction, maintenance, and operation of that bridge.
We spoke with several people who use this section of highway about the proposed idea.
"I guess to raise taxes to everybody is really hard, so I guess for the people using the road, then maybe that's a good idea," said Gwen Chianese of Susquehanna.
"I'm opposed to it, and I think it's just another means of taxing, and I just don't think it's necessary," said Tony from New Milford.
Mike Ryder from Great Bend says his household will end up paying more.
"My fiancé, she works at the hospital so five days a week she's working and that's going to add up right there," said Ryder.
Dustin Nesbitt owns his own truck to haul cattle between New York and the Philadelphia area and uses this section of I-81. His trip is already expensive.
"It's about $90. And it's empty coming back, it's $40, and we can go all the way across New York empty or loaded for about $40-something bucks from Albany out to Erie. So, a lot of extra money that they're going to be taking away from us," said Nesbitt.
Some people we spoke with say they think that some drivers will avoid I-81 altogether and take alternate routes, and that could cause problems for those roads that may already be in poor condition.
"This is probably going to become a nightmare because people will get off and they'll get down to it and get back on New Milford, so I don't know," said Chianese.
PennDOT says fewer people are driving, revenue from the gas tax is lower than expected, so it is proposing these toll bridges.
The proposal calls for the toll to be $1 to $2, both directions, if PennDOT approves the plan.