President Biden’s plan to invest in infrastructure is the boost Pennsylvania needs now. Unfortunately, it won’t solve SEPTA’s long-term funding problem.
April 30, 2021 1:15 PM, EDT
Pennsylvania Panel Explores Alternatives to Bridge Tolls, Gas Taxes
I-95 s mile-long double-decked Girard Point Bridge in Philadelphia. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
It’s not clear yet if Pennsylvania drivers will pay $1 or $2 to cross major bridges, but Pennsylvania needs billions of dollars from somewhere for transportation, state Rep. Mike Carroll said.
“So whether those nine bridges get tolled is an open question, but for those who say, ‘No,’ my question is, ‘What instead?’ ” Carroll said to other members of the state Transportation Revenue Options Commission during a teleconference April 29.
A day earlier, the Senate passed a bill requiring Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to restart the process that devised the plan for tolls on bridges, including spans on I-80 at Nescopeck Creek in Black Creek Township and at the Lehigh River in White Haven.
bkibler@altoonamirror.com
PennDOT is experiencing funding problems due to the reduced ability of gas tax revenues to keep up with construction needs.
While it awaits long-term solutions from a newly formed Transportation Revenue Options Commission, the department is extending the money that is available with tactics like “asset preservation,” according to Vince Greenland, District 9 assistant district executive, who spoke this week at PennDOT’s annual “outreach” to municipal officials.
The department’s guidelines for managing asphalt pavement are designed to postpone for as long as possible the steep decline of pavement condition that leads to the need for expensive resurfacing and eventually reconstruction by performing inexpensive maintenance at the right times, according to Greenland.
Why the White House gave Pa a C- grade for its infrastructure echo-pilot.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from echo-pilot.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau
The White House released fact sheets this week for every state to demonstrate how President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan would help them, and Pennsylvania received a C- grade for its existing infrastructure.
Republicans have balked at Biden’s plan, saying that the federal government should not go into further debt after spending trillions in pandemic relief over the last year and that the president wants to spend money on non-infrastructure goals.
Pennsylvania s grade was no worse than most states. No state received higher than a C grade.
“For decades, infrastructure in Pennsylvania has suffered from a systemic lack of investment,” the White House document says, while touting that Biden’s plan would “make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure.”