Charter allows DRPA to acquire Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

[BrianP]

Charter allows DRPA to acquire Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

The DRPA could acquire the Tacony-Palmyra with approval of the governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to language in identical bills introduced Monday by Republican legislators from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Burlington County Bridge Commission charges $2 per round trip for passenger vehicles on the four-lane Tacony-Palmyra. It charges the same amount on the two-lane Burlington-Bristol bridge.

That is $3 less than the $5 toll on the DRPA's four, much larger bridges between South Jersey and Pennsylvania. The DRPA compact mentions only the Tacony, which produces the most toll revenue for the county bridge commission.

The charter says the DRPA may acquire "all right, title and interest in and to the Tacony-Palmyra bridge ... together with any approaches and interests in real property necessary"  either by "purchase or condemnation,"  regardless of whether it's owned by a private person; company; a public body; commission; or a political subdivision, including a county or municipality.

Hey we could make more money if we could charge the cheapskates who bypass our high tolls.  Or even better close the bridge so they have to use our bridges.

Although on the bright side at least economic development spending is finally going out the door:

Besides banning economic development activity, the legislative reform proposals would make it easier to obtain public records, limit top DRPA executive salaries to those paid to the governors, create a transit council to study operation and maintenance of the authority's PATCO Hi-Speedline and ban nepotism in hiring and free bridge tolls for DRPA employees.

Although the DRPA has abandoned economic development spending and implemented other reforms, the proposed legislation goes beyond those reforms and also codifies them for the future.

[jeffandnicole]

That is quite a surprise. Even more surprising is that the DRPA never moved to acquire the Tacony.