Pennsylvania Road Closure Costing Residents Thousands in Tolls

Road Closed

The reopening of a three-mile section of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap – shut down since December 2022 due to rockslides – has been complicated by a combination of nature and red tape.

In the meantime, area residents pay tolls multiple times a day along a detour that crosses into New Jersey and business owners struggle to keep their doors open.

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Pennsylvania Latest State to Embrace Automatic Voter Registration, Triggers New Integrity Fears

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has implemented automatic voter registration, triggering new legal and election integrity concerns over voter roll maintenance as nearly half of U.S. states now follow such a policy.

Shapiro announced last Tuesday that the commonwealth would implement automatic voter registration, which means that residents obtaining state ID cards and driver’s licenses at Department of Transportation (PennDOT) centers will be automatically registered to vote.

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Pennsylvania’s Speed Camera Enforcement Laws Sunsetting Soon

State lawmakers must act soon before a trio of authorizations expire for traffic cameras that capture drivers violating traffic laws.

Provisions will soon kick in that would put an end to speed cameras in active work zones; camera-equipped school buses that ticket drivers who fail to yield to a stop sign; and speed cameras along Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard — one of the commonwealth’s most dangerous roads.

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Pennsylvania Readies to Send Out $62 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

As Pennsylvania officials discuss an electric vehicle fee to replace the gas tax, federal funds are available to build out the EV charging infrastructure in the commonwealth.

On Monday, PennDOT announced its first round of funding will open on March 27 and close May 5 for EV stations across Pennsylvania. The money will flow through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant program, with $25 million available for fiscal year 2022 and $37 million for fiscal year 2023, according to a news release.

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Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Rules Against Tolling Plan

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Thursday ruled to stop a tolling plan that would have affected nine bridges throughout the state.

In November 2020, the state Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board voted to open the door to tolling bridges on Interstate 78, Interstate 79, Interstate 80, Interstate 81, and Interstate 83 to fund their repair or replacement. Cumberland County, Bridgeville Borough, South Fayette Township and Collier Township eventually sued Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) administration to prevent the state from establishing the collection booths.

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Pennsylvania Leaves Local Taxpayers Footing Bill for Stormwater Management

A Pennsylvania state senator is raising the alarm over millions of dollars the commonwealth owes to local municipalities for unpaid stormwater management fees.

The state Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a hearing to discuss the commonwealth’s refusal to pay required fees to more than 2,500 municipalities to manage stormwater run-off.

Local officials told lawmakers last week state and federal laws require municipalities to manage the runoff, but only the U.S. government covers its portion of the cost.

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