ICYMI: Thompson in Penn Live: ‘Enough with tolls on Pennsylvania’s roadways’

Enough with tolls on Pennsylvania's roadways | Opinion

By: U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson


Pennsylvanians' wallets have been taking a hit, from grocery stores to gas pumps and far beyond. On average gas prices are up more than $1.30 per gallon nationally. Yet, in the state with the second highest gas tax in the country, at 57.6 cents per gallon, PennDOT is still planning to increase the cost of travel with a proposal to toll nine major bridges throughout the Commonwealth.

PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian recently shared her viewpoint in this publication on the future of transportation in Pennsylvania. It was published on the same day that I attended an underwhelming PennDOT briefing on the haphazard plans to place tolls on two bridges along Interstate 80.

The agency has been anything but transparent as it forges ahead with this proposal. The so-called briefings lacked substance and did not provide time for meaningful engagement, nor was there any effort to answer a myriad of questions looming over the plans. PennDOT continues to tout public input is a critical part of any of its projects, but these briefings proved otherwise.

This is no different than a field hearing held in Clarion, Pa., this past April that was attended by several members of Congress and representatives from the Pennsylvania General Assembly. We met in Clarion to learn more from Secretary Gramian about PennDOT's bridge tolling plan. Following her testimony, the Secretary refused to take questions from the panel. Just like the most recent briefings, PennDOT is just looking to check a box. This is the basic problem with the bridge tolling plan: tolls are a forgone conclusion rather than an alternative in a list of options to address Pennsylvania's aging infrastructure.

PennDOT has been unable – or unwilling – to provide details as to how long tolls would remain on these bridges. Secretary Gramian testified before the Senate in Harrisburg that it could be 10 to 15 years, only to respond to my office a week later that it could be 30 to 35 years. We have been down this road before with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which was supposed have its tolls removed in 1954. Past performance tends to be a key indicator of future performance and once tolls are constructed; it is clear they will never come off.

Nearly a year ago, the unelected Public Private Transportation Partnership Board said PennDOT could implement user fees to fund bridge work across the state. While the public-private partnership, or P3 model, has been utilized to conduct more than 500 rapid bridge replacements in Pennsylvania, many legislators in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. have expressed serious concern with PennDOT levying taxes in the form of tolls. PennDOT alleged from the beginning that tolling was merely one funding stream being examined, but after reading Secretary Gramian's op-ed, it's abundantly clear that tolling isn't just part of a plan, tolling is the plan.

Pennsylvania needs a reliable funding mechanism to maintain and replace existing infrastructure but imposing a new tax on the traveling public is not the answer. The Commonwealth collected more than $4 billion in revenue in September 2021, which is 14 percent higher than anticipated, leaving a $628.3 million budget surplus.

Senator Wayne Langerholc, Jr., chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee, has put forth the DRIVE SMART Act that would overhaul the Commonwealth's transportation system by reforming and investing in roads and bridges, public transportation, airports, passenger rail and active transportation. The plan provides several alternatives to increase revenue without tolling, such as increasing fines for those driving with expired registrations, and other common traffic infractions, and implementing a user fee for electric car owners. Importantly, Sen. Langerholc's bill includes an audit of PennDOT to see if funds are being mismanaged or if new cost savings can be found.

I remain incredibly concerned that bridge tolling will punish residents who live near these bridges, endanger local communities with truck diversion, and cause greater maintenance costs on local roads. Tolls will crush jobs and harm hardworking Pennsylvanians who are just beginning to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Tolling should be a last resort, not the starting point.

U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson represents the 15th Congressional District, and he resides in Howard Township.

Read the full piece in Penn Live.