Chesco eyes car-registration fee for bridge work

Chester County moved a step closer Tuesday to joining several other Pennsylvania counties that charge additional fees for vehicle registrations.

State law allows counties to impose a $5 fee for registrations not considered exempt. Counties can use the funds for transportation improvement projects. The law took effect in January 2015.

Philadelphia and Bucks County are among at least six that have approved the fee. Montgomery County is considering it.

The Chester County commissioners discussed the fee at a meeting Tuesday and will vote Thursday on whether to impose it. County officials expect fees for approximately 440,000 eligible vehicles to generate about $2.2 million, which they will use for bridge repairs.

"Fiscally, it makes sense," said Terence Farrell, chair of the county commissioners. "But morally, it's the right thing to do to make sure our bridges don't fall into our rivers."

Current funding supports a small percentage of repairs and maintenance needed for bridges, but not extensive rehabilitation or replacement, county officials said.

Of the 94 bridges the county owns, more than a third are considered structurally deficient, and two-thirds are functionally obsolete, county officials said.

More than 60 percent are better than 75 years old, and a third are more than 100 years old. Bridges are generally designed to last about 50 years.

The county does not have the money to meet its goal of repairing two bridges per year, officials said. With the fee, the county can raise the average number of bridges under construction from 1.1 per year to 1.5, said Steve Fromnick, director of facilities and parks.

That number is still under the goal, but "it's definitely an improvement," Fromnick said.

If the Chester County commissioners vote for the fee Thursday, it would go into effect 90 days after the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation receives the ordinance.

mbond@philly.com

610-313-8207 @MichaelleBond