The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Thursday that the Interstate 80 bridge over the Lehigh River between Carbon and Luzerne counties is being considered for tolling.

PennDOT announced the project is part of the Pathways Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership Initiative.

“Our reliance on funding models from the last century leaves us especially vulnerable to fund losses stemming from volatile economic conditions and the increasing transition to alternative-fuel or electric vehicles,” PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said. “This initiative will help us make much-needed improvements without compromising the routine projects our communities and industry partners rely on.”

To support PennDOT Pathways, an alternative funding study is underway to identify near- and long-term funding solutions for the overall transportation system.

One of the early findings of the study is that tolling of major bridges in need of replacement or rehabilitation appears to be a viable near-term solution, PennDOT said in a release.

To advance this funding alternative, PennDOT is considering the Major Bridge P3 Initiative.

Through the P3 model, approved on Nov. 12, 2020, PennDOT can leverage private investment to rebuild critical bridges during a period with historically low interest rates and a favorable labor market. This initiative can provide a dedicated source of revenue for these infrastructure improvements and could create significant savings over the life of the program while ensuring the vitality of the state’s transportation system and economy.

The bridges being considered for tolling are structures of substantial size that warrant timely attention and would require significant funds to rehabilitate or replace. These bridges were selected based on the feasibility of construction beginning in two to four years to maximize near-term benefits, and with the intention that their locations are geographically balanced to avoid impact to just one region.

The I-80 bridges over the Lehigh River are eastbound/westbound structures built in 1965 and approaching the end of their serviceable life spans.

These bridges cross over the Lehigh River, Lehigh Gorge State Park, Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad and River Road in Carbon and Luzerne counties.

Combined, the bridges carry an average of 27,400 vehicles per day, about 44 percent of which is truck traffic.

Other bridges considered are: Interstate 78 Lenhartsville Bridge Replacement in Berks County, Interstate 79 widening, and Bridgeville Interchange Reconfiguration in Allegheny County, I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges in Clarion County, I-80 Nescopeck Creek Bridges in Luzerne County, I-80 North Fork Bridges Project in Jefferson County, I-81 Susquehanna Project in Susquehanna County, I-83 South Bridge in Dauphin County and I-95 Girard Point Bridge in Philadelphia County.

Tolling would be all electronic and collected by using E-ZPass or license plate billing. The funds received from the toll would go back to the bridge where the toll is collected to pay for the construction, maintenance and operation of that bridge.

Over the next year, PennDOT will evaluate these candidate bridges through environmental documents being prepared or re-evaluated for each bridge. More information can be found at www.penndot.gov/funding and on the project pages.