SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. — PennDOT announced last week a proposal to add tolls to bridges in our area, including one in Susquehanna County on Interstate 81.
Susquehanna County Commissioner Alan Hall says the county was blindsided by the news. The commissioners met virtually with PennDOT officials and legislators to express their concerns.
"The population again is extremely frustrated. It's like, you know, here we go again, another tax a different way, more congestion, more traffic issues, you know, and nobody ever asked us or talks to us. They just do it and jam it down our throats," Susquehanna County Commissioner Alan Hall said.
Plans have been in place for several years to rebuild the bridge in Great Bend, and county officials don't see the point of the toll.
"Even if the toll booth doesn't go in, the road's still got to get fixed, but yet they want to justify fixing the roads by putting the toll booth and raising money to help pay for it, so there's a lot of concerns."
The commissioners were told that the gas taxes and revenue from people traveling weren't enough to cover the bridge replacement costs.
Hall says Susquehanna County residents don't deserve this additional headache.
"If you live in Susquehanna County, and you live on that corridor, you're either working, or you're working in Binghamton, so you know, you're traveling that interstate quite a bit. So, you know, $1 to $2, for a car to go each way, that's $4 a day. You know, now that's $20 a week just for your tolls on top of everything else."
PennDOT says about 26,000 vehicles travel the section of I-81 in Susquehanna County, and about 40 percent of them are commercial trucks. If cars or trucks take a different route to avoid the toll, Hall says they'll have even more problems.
"You're going to put a toll booth in 2023 and create this devastation. I said we still have the worst roads in the state of Pennsylvania."
Hall says he and his fellow commissioners will continue to advocate against the toll being installed. PennDOT is still evaluating the proposed bridge toll plan.