Corbett unveils “Decade of Investment” for transportation
Gov. Tom Corbett announced today that PennDOT will invest $2.1 billion in bridge and highway work this year, about $600 million more than would have been available without passage of the Transportation Funding Act last fall.
At a news conference in Harrisburg, Corbett said 250 projects will begin this year directly as a result of the funding act, for a total of more than 900 projects overall.
Echoing themes that the construction industry has been using over the last few years, the governor said the funding plan would create safer roads, bridges and public transportation systems, while saving 12,000 jobs immediately and creating 50,000 more during the next five years. He said 18,000 jobs would be created this year alone.
Some of the higher-profile projects include:
- Rehabilitating the Birmingham Bridge in Pittsburgh.
- Rehabilitating the Spring Garden Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
- Resurfacing the Trexlertown bypass in Lehigh County.
- Resurfacing more than 145 miles of roads in northeastern Pennsylvania.
- Resurfacing and bridge preservation on the Lock Haven Bypass, in Clinton County.
- Resurfacing more than 142 miles of roads in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Moreover, the plan will enable PennDOT to remove weight restrictions on more than 100 state and local bridges in 2014. The department had been forced to begin posting weight restrictions last year in the absence of a funding measure.
The governor noted that local governments and transit systems also will benefit from the funding measure. Nearly 50 public transportation projects will enter the design stage or begin construction that would have remained on hold without the new funding. Local governments will receive a $25 million increase in transportation funds this year, growing to a $220 million annual increase in five years.
And finally, Corbett directed PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch to again review PennDOT’s procedures to identify efficiencies to assure that the new revenue is spent wisely. To date, PennDOT has implemented efficiencies that will save about $100 million per year.
Despite raising an additional $600 million this year, primarily by uncapping the Oil Company Franchise tax, gasoline prices are almost exactly where they were one year ago, and nearly 40 cents per gallon less than two years ago.
“The funding act goes a long way toward stemming the tide of deterioration of Pennsylvania’s transportation system,” said PHIA Managing Director Jason Wagner. “To have done it without significantly impacting gas prices speaks to the success of the General Assembly and the governor in striking the right balance in improving safety, relieving congestion and creating jobs in Pennsylvania.”
To read the governor’s news release and press materials, click here.
For PHIA’s summary of the funding act, click here.
Each of the 11 PennDOT districts will hold separate news conferences outlining the specifics in each region. A master list of projects will be posted on PennDOT’s website later today at www.dot.state.pa.us
