§ 32:8-11 — Amendment of agreement authorized; preamble; power of commission

ARTICLE X. (a) The commission may acquire, construct, rehabilitate, improve, maintain, repair and operate bridges for vehicular or pedestrian traffic across the Delaware river between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey at any location north of the boundary line between Bucks county and Philadelphia county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as extended across the Delaware river to the New Jersey shore of said river. The commission may also, subject to the approval of the State Highway Department of the State of New Jersey and the Department of Highways of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, lease such bridges as lessor to, and contract for the operation of such bridges by, one or more public bodies, instrumentalities, commissions, or public agencies. Whenever any bridge north of the boundary line described above in this paragraph (a), proposed to be acquired by the commission pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, has been constructed pursuant to consent or authorization granted by Federal law, the acquisition of such bridge by the commission shall be by purchase or by condemnation in accordance with the provisions of such Federal law, or the acquisition of such bridge by the commission shall be pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of sections 48:5-22 and 48:5-23 of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey, and for all the purposes of said provisions and sections the commission is hereby appointed as the agency of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania exercising the rights and powers granted or reserved by said Federal law or sections to the State of New Jersey and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania jointly or to the State of New Jersey acting in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The commission shall have authority to so acquire such bridge whether the same be owned, held, operated or maintained by any private person, firm, partnership, company, association or corporation or by any instrumentality, public body, commission, public agency or political subdivision (including any county or municipality) of, or created by or in, the State of New Jersey or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or by any instrumentality, public body, commission or public agency of, or created by or in, a political subdivision (including any county or municipality) of the State of New Jersey or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition to other powers conferred upon it, and not in limitation thereof, the commission may acquire all right, title and interest in and to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, across the Delaware river at Palmyra, New Jersey, together with any approaches and interests in real property necessary thereto. The acquisition of such bridge, approaches and interests by the commission shall be by purchase or by condemnation in accordance with the provisions of the Federal law consenting to or authorizing the construction of such bridge and approaches, or the acquisition of such bridge, approaches or interests by the commission shall be pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of sections 48:5-22 and 48:5-23 of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey, and for all the purposes of said provisions and sections the commission is hereby appointed as the agency of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania exercising the rights and powers granted or reserved by said Federal law or sections to the State of New Jersey and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania jointly or to the State of New Jersey acting in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The commission shall have authority to so acquire such bridge, approaches and interests, whether the same be owned, held, operated, or maintained by any private person, firm, partnership, company, association or corporation or by any instrumentality, public body, commission, public agency or political subdivision (including any county or municipality) of, or created by or in, the State of New Jersey or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or by any instrumentality, public body, commission or public agency of, or created by or in, a political subdivision (including any county or municipality) of the State of New Jersey or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The power and authority herein granted to the commission to acquire said Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, approaches and interests shall not be exercised unless and until the Governor of the State of New Jersey and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have filed with the commission their written consents to such acquisition. The word "bridge" as used in this Agreement shall include such approach highways and interests in real property necessary thereto in said Commonwealth or said State as may be determined by the commission to be necessary to facilitate the flow of traffic in the vicinity of any such bridge or to connect such bridge with the highway system or other traffic facilities in said Commonwealth or said State; provided, however, that the power and authority herein granted to the commission in connection with the approach highways shall not be exercised unless and until the Department of Highways of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall have filed with the commission its written approval as to approach highways to be located in said Commonwealth and the State Highway Department of the State of New Jersey shall have filed with the commission its written approval as to approach highways to be located in said State. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any provision of law, State or Federal, to the contrary, the commission may combine for financing purposes any bridge or bridges hereafter constructed or acquired by it with any or all of the bridges described or referred to in any trust indenture securing bridge revenue bonds of the commission at the time outstanding, subject to any limitations or restrictions contained in such trust indenture. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit or impair any right or power granted or to be granted to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission or the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, acting alone or in conjunction with each other, to provide for the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of one bridge across the Delaware river south of the city of Trenton in the State of New Jersey; provided, that such bridge shall not be constructed within a distance of ten miles, measured along the boundary line between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey, from the bridge being constructed across the Delaware river by the commission between the borough of Morrisville in said Commonwealth and the city of Trenton in said State, so long as there are any outstanding bonds or obligations of the commission for which the tolls, rents, rates, or other revenues, or any part thereof, of said bridge now being constructed shall have been pledged; but such bridge may be constructed at any other location north of the boundary line described above in this paragraph (a). Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to authorize the commission to condemn any such bridge. (b) The commission may replace any one or more existing bridges across the Delaware river between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey north of said line with one or more new bridges at such locations as the commission may determine to be adequate and convenient for the traffic to be served thereby. (c) The commission may acquire by purchase or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any existing ferry or bridge the acquisition of which the commission may determine to be necessary or advisable in connection with the construction of a new bridge, the cost of such acquisition to be deemed to be a part of the cost of such construction. (d) The commission may enter upon, use, occupy, enlarge, construct and improve any street, road or highway located within the limits of any municipality and deemed by the commission to be necessary in connection with the acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance or operation of any bridge owned or operated by the commission or of any bridge approaches, bridge plazas or approach highways to any such bridge, subject, however, to the consent of the governing body of such municipality and to such reasonable police regulations as may be established by such governing body. (e) The commission may demolish and remove any bridge now operated by it when such bridge has been or is being replaced by a new bridge at the same or a different location which in the determination of the commission will serve substantially the same traffic as that served by such existing bridge, and the commission may sell or otherwise dispose of any ferry or other property of the commission deemed by it to be no longer useful or needed for the purposes of the commission. (f) The commission may acquire for the purposes of this article any real property which it shall find necessary or convenient to acquire for public use in the manner provided by Article III of this Agreement, or, in the alternative, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the same manner and with the same right of entry as the highway department of the Commonwealth may acquire lands by condemnation for highway purposes and in the State of New Jersey in the same manner and with the same right of entry as the highway department of the State may acquire lands by condemnation for highway purposes. (g) The commission may make and enforce such rules and regulations with respect to the use of any bridge operated by it as it shall deem proper and reasonable, including regulations limiting the loads permitted on any such bridge and closing to traffic any such bridge deemed by the commission to be unsafe. (h) The commission may provide, from time to time, for the issuance of its bridge revenue bonds for any one or more of the following purposes: (1) providing funds for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation or improvement of any one or more bridges the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation or improvement of which is herein authorized; (2) providing funds for the construction or improvement of approach facilities deemed by the commission to be necessary or desirable in connection with the acquisition, construction, maintenance or operation of any bridge owned or operated by the commission, including but without limitation bridge approaches, entrance plazas, overpasses, underpasses and approach highways; and (3) refunding any bridge revenue bonds or bridge revenue refunding bonds of the commission. The bridge or bridges (including any approach facilities) on account of which a single issue of bonds shall be issued as herein authorized shall constitute a single project for financing purposes. (i) The commission may fix, charge and collect tolls, rates, rents and other charges for the use of any bridge or bridges constituting a single project, such tolls to be fixed and adjusted, subject to any applicable Federal law, as to provide funds at least sufficient (1) to pay the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating such bridge or bridges, including the administrative expenses of the commission chargeable thereto, (2) to pay the bridge revenue bonds or the bridge revenue refunding bonds issued on account of such project and the interest on such bonds, and (3) to provide reserves for such purposes; provided, however, that no tolls shall be charged or collected for the use of any bridge now operated by the commission as a free bridge but only for the use of bridges constructed or acquired by the commission under the provisions of this compact or agreement. Subject to any applicable Federal law, the commission may pledge such tolls, rates, rents and other revenues or any part thereof for such purposes. The commission may establish separate schedules of tolls, rates and charges for use of any bridge on which tolls may be established hereunder by residents of areas adjacent to or served directly by such bridge under such conditions and on such terms as it shall determine to be proper and reasonable, including tolls, rates and charges for unlimited use of any such bridge. No member of the commission shall be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of any act or omission of the commission. Amended by L.1947, c. 283, p. 992, s. 1; L.1951, c. 284, p. 1017, s. 1.