Corman vows to undo Wolf administration plans to toll bridges to fund repairs

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jake Corman pushed back on the Wolf administration’s plans to toll nine bridges across the state and called on the governor to halt the process, while also promising to undo the process if he is elected.

“We have a transportation issue we need to resolve in Pennsylvania, and we have bridge construction we need to do,” Corman said Friday outside a Sunoco gas station near the Interstate 79 bridge over Route 50 in Bridgeville, one of the bridges that would be tolled. “But picking out nine bridges and pitting one community against another is not the way to move forward.”

The push to toll certain bridges to pay for repairs has been ongoing for more than a year, with Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration facing opposition from the Republican-controlled legislature. The tolls on I-79 and eight other heavily used bridges across the state would be between $1 and $2, and collection would likely be handed by a partnership between PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

“I think it is wrong for Pennsylvania,” Corman said of the plan. “Transportation costs are already significantly high enough in Pennsylvania — we don’t need to add to that.”

PennDOT spokeswoman Erin Waters-Trasatt noted that a Republican-led legislature in 2012 approved the creation of the department’s Public-Private Partnerships (P3) board, which allows PennDOT to contract with private companies for state projects.

“In the absence of legislative action to address PennDOT’s funding needs, this P3 board has approved tolling to repair or replace these costly bridges without using PennDOT’s current funding, which is needed for many other critical maintenance and repair projects,” Waters-Trasatt said.

Corman’s plan to pay for the bridge repairs includes moving the $650 million motor license fund — which in part helps fund Pennsylvania State Police services — to the state’s general fund. He said the state police should be funded out of the general fund as well.

He said the plan to toll certain bridges will backfire.

“(Tolling) ends up diverting traffic away (onto) back roads, into side roads, into community roads, because people are going to want to avoid the cost,” Corman said. “And, really, again, why are you picking this community over another community who needs a bridge fix? We need a comprehensive transportation plan that I will lead as governor.”

Waters-Trasatt said the governor’s office welcomes other ideas.

“If tolls aren’t the correct answer,” she said, “the Wolf administration welcomes a discussion on any alternative plans that fund our roads and bridges and close our $8.1 billion annual bridge and road projects funding gap and sustainably fund the state police.”

In late March, the Wolf administration picked a consortium of companies to manage the construction on the bridges targeted for repair through tolling. It includes three international firms and four others specializing in design and heavy construction.

Corman called on Wolf to halt the process.

“He’s going to put cost into trying to force this thing through (and) he won’t get it done in time,” he said.

Wolf is in the final year of his second and final term.

“This tolling plan is wrong, and so I call on him to stop it,” he said. “Allow the next administration, next legislature to put a transportation infrastructure plan together. But again, to be very clear, as the next governor, there will be no tolling of these nine bridges in Pennsylvania.”

Corman, a Republican state senator from Centre County, is one of nine candidates vying for the GOP nomination in the gubernatorial primary race. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is unopposed in the Democratic primary.