PHIA News Digest – Vol. 7, No. 12
Lawmakers to push for $500M trust fund to help fix Pennsylvania’s decaying bridges
Two veteran Pennsylvania lawmakers from both parties say they will push for legislation to create a $500 million local bridge trust fund that could offer significant relief to the state’s aging infrastructure and help reduce a backlog of badly deteriorating spans statewide.
Pa. bridge tolling: ‘Haphazard’ plan, foreign contractor draw ire
Funding roads and bridges is getting tricky for Pennsylvania with the decline of gas tax revenue, and a plan to toll bridges across the Commonwealth is drawing heavy criticism from state legislators and the public alike.
PennDOT bridge tolling proposal to undergo federal review process
PennDOT will have to undergo a federal review process before it moves forward with its plan to toll nine bridges, U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson announced in a press release.
New local taxes for public transit may be on the way for some Pa. counties
Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-Chester/Montgomery, introduced HB2366 to grant Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties the ability to levy taxes “for transit and transportation systems and transportation infrastructure.”
As PennDOT hurries to rebuild Fern Hollow Bridge, environmentalists worry about waterways below
Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh officials are acting quickly to replace the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge. While that has some concerned about a rushed idea for the bridge’s aesthetic, others are sounding the alarm about what an accelerated project could mean for Fern Hollow and Frick Park below.
