After an appeals court struck down the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) bridge tolling plan earlier this week, Congressman Glenn Thompson called for the resignation of the agency’s leader, Yassmin Gramian.
Thompson, R-Pa., said published reports indicated PennDOT spent more than $14 million in taxpayers’ money “in pursuit of a haphazard plan to toll nine bridges in the Commonwealth.”
The Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership (P3) Initiative was struck down by the Commonwealth Court on Thursday, which ruled that PennDOT violated the law and skirted obligations to transparency and public engagement.
“For more than a year, I have voiced my concerns to PennDOT Secretary Gramian that the agency was putting forth an untenable tolling proposal, ‘’ Thompson said. “Along the way, she made it clear through her actions that public engagement was merely an afterthought. This was apparent when she refused to take questions from federal and state legislators at a field hearing last spring in Clarion.”
Thompson hosted the hearing in April of 2021 for the purpose of examining the proposal and having Gramian answer questions. However, according to Thompson, she refused to answer questions and left the meeting after only 15 minutes, “claiming the governor was holding a cabinet meeting.”
The impacted bridges would include I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges in Clarion County and I-80 North Fork Bridges Project in Jefferson County.
On Friday, Thompson said, “Under Secretary Gramian, PennDOT has wasted millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through her quest to impose a new tax upon Pennsylvanians and the traveling public. She has violated both the law and the public’s trust — Secretary Gramian should resign, effective immediately.”
The Commonwealth Court’s ruling declared PennDOT’s initiative void of having any legal effect.
PennDOT had created a Public-Private Partnership Board, the duties of which are spelled out and include “consult with persons affected by proposed transportation projects.” Another part indicates projects must have a detailed analysis prepared before coming before the board.
However, in the case of the bridge tolling, the board failed to identify the specific bridges when it approved the initiative.
A lawsuit brought by three Allegheny County municipalities contended that the board could not have considered whether the project was in the best interest of the state — as required by its own regulations — because the specific bridges being considered were not decided until after the initiative was approved.
In the ruling, Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote, “The board essentially approved a multi-billion-dollar transportation project based on what was essentially a four-page powerpoint recommendation from [PennDOT] that failed to delineate” which bridges or how many bridges it would affect.
According to PennLive, a separate lawsuit filed by Cumberland County and seven municipalities over the proposed tolling of the I-83 South Bridge temporarily halted all work on this PennDOT initiative. That case is now on appeal to the state Supreme Court.
