Allegheny County municipalities sue PennDOT over proposed I-79 bridge tolling project

Three Allegheny County municipalities have sued PennDOT to halt a bridge project along Interstate 79 that could result in tolls being imposed there to help pay for the work.

The bridge, which borders Collier and is located in Bridgeville and South Fayette, goes over Route 50. It has been targeted for a rehabilitation project that also would include adding a lane in each direction.

The project is part of PennDOT’s larger Pathways Bridge Public-Private Partnership (P3), which includes plans to replace or revamp as many as nine bridges across the state at a cost of up to $2.2 billion.

Last year, the lawsuit said, PennDOT commissioned a report that found that “there is a critical need for reinvestment” on 25,000 bridges. PennDOT has reported an $8 billion funding gap to maintain the state’s highways and bridges.

To cover the cost of the bridge projects, PennDOT has proposed imposing tolls on the spans. The agency has said the I-79 work is expected to cost $120 million to $150 million.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Commonwealth Court by the three affected municipalities, seeks an immediate halt to the project, which some local business owners and legislators have condemned.

“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 complaint said. “The proposed project will also impact the local governments’ residents who will bear a heavy financial burden from the tolls assessed.”

The complaint said local roads are inadequate to accept the anticipated increases in traffic.

“We are confident that PennDOT and the Public-Private Partnerships (P3) board acted appropriately and in accordance with the law in approving the Major Bridge P3 initiative,” said PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell in an email. “Furthermore, PennDOT has conducted robust and ongoing public outreach related to the Major Bridge P3, including several workshops and briefings with officials and stakeholders.

“We look forward to our opportunity to respond to the lawsuit.”

Other defendants include Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board and Chair Yassmin Gramian.

Passed in 2012, Act 88, which established the public-private transportation board, requires “appropriate oversight” from the legislature, as well as consultation with the local communities impacted by board proposals, the lawsuit said.

Once a project is approved by the P3 Board, the complaint said, the board is required to submit an annual report to the legislature detailing all projects evaluated and resolutions adopted. Then, the lawsuit said, the General Assembly may, within 20 calendar days or nine legislative days, rescind the approval of a transportation project.

In the I-79 bridge project, the plaintiffs allege that there was no chance for that to happen. The lawsuit said none of the local governments received notice prior to the board’s resolution on Nov. 12, 2020.

That day, the P3 board voted on a “vague” resolution to adopt the major bridge initiative, without identifying any specific projects or bridges.

“Without knowing any specific bridges slated for the P3 model, the P3 board’s approval is shielded from meaningful legislative purview. Members of the General Assembly were unable to truly assess whether it should vote to ‘rescind approval,’” the complaint said.

Then, several months later, PennDOT identified nine bridge projects, including the one on I-79. In its project description, the lawsuit said, the agency would analyze how tolling could impact local communities, as well as how alternate routes may be impacted.

The lawsuit claims that process never occurred.

The lawsuit said the P3 Board failed to comply with the procedures called for in the legislation that created it, including identifying the Bridgeville Bridge Toll Project before approving it, gaining citizen feedback from affected communities and doing a cost-benefit analysis of the project.

In March, several state representatives who oppose the project sent a letter to Gramian questioning what they considered to be irregularities in the board’s approval process.

One of the lawmakers, state Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, on Thursday praised the lawsuit, saying the inclusion of the I-79 bridge in the proposed projects makes no sense.

“This bridge is nowhere near the end of its life span,” he said.

While acknowledging the work would improve traffic flow, Ortitay said there is no danger that must be immediately addressed on the span.

Regarding PennDOT’s funding shortfall, Ortitay said it could be addressed with last week’s passage of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill, which, he said, is expected to result in $4 billion in federal highway and bridge funding for Pennsylvania.

“This significant investment should have ended PennDOT’s tolling plan immediately,” Ortitay said.

Calling it a “ludicrous proposal,” Ortitay said, “The Wolf administration views the taxpayers of this state as a never-ending source of revenue to do whatever it wants. This tolling plan will only cause further deterioration of local roads and drive up costs for everything.”