PennDOT Sec: Gas Tax Hike Not Being Considered

The head of a panel designed to find ways to fund repairs to the state's roads and bridges says tolling could be the most reliable way to go.
PennDOT's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission will hear a presentation Monday on the possibility of tolling Route 422 in Montgomery, Chester and Berks Counties.
The 30-member commission set up by Governor Tom Corbett looks for ways to pay for transportation improvements across the state.
PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch says tolling would provide a steady stream of income, but can't be used on many busy highways...

“Tolling certainly is mileage-based. It doesn't matter whether your car is electric, fuel cell, or gasoline or diesel. It all gets charged the same way. So that's a possibility in the future, but there are federal laws that restrict that, especially on our interstate systems, so unless they change that won't be a part of the immediate future.”

Schoch says the commission is examining tolls because other sources of funding, like gas taxes, are shrinking...

“If you owned a car in the 1970s chances are it got less than 15 miles-per-gallon. Today you probably get around 30 miles-per-gallon. So, you travel the same amount of miles per year, but you buy half as much gas as you did back in the 70s, and that's a large chunk of how we get our revenue to build the roads and bridges.”

Shoch says the commission is looking for plans that will generate two-and-a-half million dollars in recurring revenue over four or five years. He says the commission has been instructed not to look at increasing the gas tax. But if nothing is done to find more money, he says the department may have to close bridges and roadways as they fall into serious disrepair

Pennsylvania Walks and Bike Summit Treads to Harrisburg

Lawmakers and Pennsylvania Walks and Bikes think they have a solution to the Commonwealth's transportation issues: walking and biking. Walks and Bikes held a summit in Harrisburg today to promote state legislation and policy supporting safe pedestrian and bicycle use on roads and elsewhere in communities. State Representative Michael Folmer (R-Lebanon) says that as the weather changes, the demand for walking and biking paths increase.

"It's imperative, I think, as we go forward with any future road plans and as we go do out road maintenance that we start including the bicyclist and the walkers in that planning because people are starting to do it more and more."

Folmer attributes the outdoor transportation movement to rising gas prices, going "green" and a desire for community camaraderie. The summit advocated for three pieces of legislation that focus on right of way for bicyclists and cracking down on motorists using cellphones while driving. Although Folmer did not have any statistics on pedestrian-driver or bicyclist-driver accidents in Pennsylvania, he did mention that safety is a number one priority when sharing the roads.

Warhol Bridge to Close for Nearly 4 Weeks

Driving from the North Side into downtown Pittsburgh will be a bit more difficult starting Monday. Allegheny County spokesman Kevin Evanto says the Andy Warhol Bridge (formerly the 7th Street Bridge) is closing down for four weeks for deck and steel repairs. However, pedestrians will still be able to use the span. One sidewalk will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and both sidewalks will be open after 4 p.m. and on weekends. Evanto says the bridge is scheduled to reopen May 27.

5 Hurt in Cab Accident In Downtown Pittsburgh

A Yellow Cab traveling on Penn Avenue jumped a curb near Sixth Street in downtown Pittsburgh about 1 o'clock this afternoon. Police say at least 4 pedestrians were injured, two critically. The driver was also injured when the taxi struck several parking meters and two buildings.
No identities have been released.
Jamie Campolongo, President and CEO of Pittsburgh Transportation Group, the parent company of Yellow Cab, issued a statement saying they are trying to get full details.

"Our staff will fully cooperate with Pittsburgh Police to determine exactly what happened. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved and their families."

Budget Proposal Eliminates Human Services Fund

The commuters who use the Somerset Country Transportation will not have a public transportation outlet if their ride is paid by the Human Services Development Fund. Jeffrey Masterson, Executive Director of the Community Action Partnership for Somerset County, says the governor's proposed budget that the funding elimination will effect about 2,000 people.

"The basic qualification other than being a Somerset County resident, is to fall into a low-income category."

The fund is allocated to each county in Pennsylvania for human services. That money in Somerset provides transportation for low income individuals ages 18-59 to ride to grocery stores and other necessary trips. Instead of a mass transit system, the county has a shared ride system which relies on the Human Services Fund to offer the free commuting operation.

Some commutes will still be available through other funding outlets such as Act 44, so rides for those 60 and older in Somerset county along with those who need rides to medical appointments will not be affected.

"It's only for those low income individuals that don't fit into that category, but need that necessary transportation to get to things other than a doctor's appointment, which everyone needs to do," Masterson says.

The budget is only a proposal, so Masterson has lobbied to lawmakers, but did not get a satisfying reaction.

"We were provided with the comment that everybody has to tighten their belt, and my comment was, well, there is no belt left to tighten, it's gone. These folks have absolutely no other resources in this rural area to get where they need to go," he says.

Bill Would Reconfigure PAT Board

A second state lawmaker from Allegheny County is proposing legislation to change the makeup of the board of the Port Authority of Allegheny County.
Democratic State Senator Wayne Fontana of Brookline says reconfiguring the PAT board would ensure better representation of those impacted by the panel's decisions.
Last week Democratic State Representative Chelsa Wagner of Beechview introduced a bill that would have each of the 4 state legislative caucuses appoint one member to the PAT board.


Fontana's bill would require the County Chief Executive to appoint members to the board that would represent specific segments of the population: a member of the House and Senate from Allegheny County, a member of the Transit Council, and a member that would represent labor.

“The Commonwealth currently provides 63% of the Port Authority’s budget, yet has absolutely no say in the decisions made by the board in regard to service or other issues. This has to change,” Fontana said. “Ensuring that the users (Transit Council) and labor are also at the table is important to provide a full understanding of the issues before the board.”

Currently, the nine-member board is appointed by the Chief Executive and confirmed by County Council. The only requirement is that members must be residents of the county and citizens of the United States and that one member must be a member of County Council.

Fontana's legislation would not put such restrictions on the boards of other public transit agencies that also receive significant state funding. For example, the Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) receives $555 million in state subsidies which is about half of its operating budget.

Fontana says the state was counting on tolling Interstate 80, which would have meant an additional $30 million a year for PAT, and when the federal government rejected that proposal it "blew a hole" in the Act 44 transportation funding plan...

“Designating members of the board will, hopefully, provide a clearer picture of the state’s responsibility and capability to address funding and to identify options available locally.

The senator said this bill is not aimed at anyone in particular but the PAT board is not getting a state perspective..."If the state's going to provide funding, which it does obviously, it should be sitting at the table when we talk about solutions and plans to move forward and keep the Port Authority intact."

More MegaBus

Pittsburgh will be the jumping off point for nine cities as the discount busline extends to the north and west of the city.

Megabus.com already operates lines to 15 cities from Pittsburgh and lines to the latest destinations will start running May 11. But the "hub" will be virtual since Megabus does not have a bus station and most tickets are purchased over the internet. Because the company doesn't maintain bus stations, it's able to offer low cost tickets - some for only $1.

In Pittsburgh travelers board the bus at 11th Street beneath the convention center.

Megabus.com is an arm of Coach USA. "Hey with rising gas prices, rising air fare, high unemployment, coming out of a recession- potentially people are looking for value, they want to save money they want to have more money in their pocket and its all about spending the money when you get to a destination," said Dale Moser, Chief Operating Officer of Coach USA.

The new cities served by the Pittsburgh hub include: Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Detroit, Toronto, Erie and Buffalo. Megabus.com currently links Pittsburgh to Sate College, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C. and Camden, N.J.

Union Offers Concessions to Prevent Transit Cuts

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 has offered to forego a 3% pay raise due to take effect in January, 2012 and to increase employee pension contributions by 10%, which President Pat McMahon says amounts to concessions worth $18.6 million if the Port Authority board will cancel the 15% cuts due to take effect Sunday.

The union also says it will engage in immediate discussions to change retiree health care to reduce legacy costs, with any savings used to reduce the additional 10% pension contributions.

Port Authority CEO Steve Bland says the county will consider the union's written proposal and convey a decision to union leadership by 5 pm today. If the answer is yes and union members ratify the agreement by 3 pm tomorrow, cuts would be canceled.

If the Board refuses the union’s offer, there are two other options put forth by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato that would allow cancellation of cuts if accepted by the union. Union president Pat McMahon has said he doesn’t think membership would approve either of them because they are “too painful”.

When McMahon arrived at the Heinz 57 Center before the Port Authority board meeting this morning, he said Dan Onorato had just refused the union’s offer. McMahon says if the Port Authority board accepts the union’s offer, voting will start early tomorrow morning and continue until the 3 pm deadline.

If the Port Authority board refuses the offer of concessions, the union will have to decide whether to put Onorato’s options, details of which are unknown at this time, to a vote by its membership.

PAT Cuts Looming

The Port Authority of Allegheny County will cut service to many of its bus lines throughout the county this Sunday.

29 bus routes will be slashed and service will be reduced for 37 more. The Port Authority Board voted to cut service in January, pointing to a loss of state funding as the main reason for its $47 million budget shortfall.

Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie says reducing service will also have a “ripple effect” on the buses that remain.

“We’re going to have a lot of transit users looking for alternatives after March 27th, and that is going to touch on many of the routes that continue to exist. We’re expecting situations where those buses, those vehicles are going to be more crowded than normal,” says Ritchie. “You’re going to have standing conditions on some of those routes.”

Pennsylvania gave the Port Authority the $47 million needed to fill its budget gap, but the Board decided to use that money over an 18-month period instead. That angered the local transit union, which wanted to use the money over one year to prevent job losses. Ritchie says PAT is trying to sustain the most routes it can as long as possible.

Study: Transit Demand Expected to Rise

A national mass transit advocacy group says rising gas prices will push up ridership on systems throughout the country including Pittsburgh. Gas prices in the Pittsburgh area are averaging about $3.59 a gallon and in some parts of the nation have topped $4. A new report by the American Public Transportation Association indicates if gas prices reach $4 on average that will lead to an additional 670 million transit trips a year. Association Vice President Art Guzzetti says if the price hits $5, it would mean an extra 1.5 billion trips annually.
"Systems of all sizes, small bus systems, small communities, big systems as well, big rail systems...it's very widespread that there will be additional transit riders across the board. I think the public is seeing that public transportation when available is the quickest way for people to beat high gas prices."

Guzzetti says a surge in gas prices in 2008 also led to a jump in demand for public transit...."As many things as we did to carry all the additional riders, there were times in certain places where the buses were full, the trains were full, we weren't able to fit them on."
A spokeswoman for the Port Authority of Allegheny County says in 2008 during the gas price spike, ridership rose by about 15%. However, the forecast increase in ridership this time around comes as PAT is getting ready to trim service by 15% on March 27th.
Art Guzzetti of the American Public Transportation Association says the rising gas prices should be a wake up call...
"It might hit $4 a gallon, it might not. My guess is it will. But certainly in the future we're going to be back on this road again, and it might not stop at 4. So, we have to look to the future and have a balanced system, a system that has more options, more public transportation."
Guzzetti added that higher gas prices are a factor in the short term rise in mass transit use but the long term trend, over the last 15 years, is ridership is increasing more quickly than vehicle miles travelled and far outpacing the rate of population growth overall.

More Construction Restrictions on Route 28

Northbound Route 28 will be closed between the 31st Street Bridge and the 40th Street Bridge this weekend as construction and preparation begins for long-term work on the 31st Street Bridge.

Route 28 will be closed at 8 p.m. Friday, March 18 and will reopen at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 20. Following the reopening of Route 28, the intersection of the roadway and the 31st Street Bridge will close for long-term improvements planned to be finished next spring.

PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi says a detour will be posted but it will be helpful for drivers to find a different route to avoid congestion.

“We do encourage motorists, local traffic people who may know other ways to find alternate routes because there are easier ways to go. Particularly if you are leaving the city area, you can continue out Liberty Avenue rather than actually getting onto Route 28,” Struzzi says. “It’s going to be a little transition for people once the bridge closes but in the long run it’ll be better for everyone.”

The intersection will be closed as crews construct retaining walls for a new interchange with Route 28, part of a $22 million project. Other aspects of the project include upgraded drainage, signals, utility and railroad track relocation.

Struzzi says the bridge will still be accessible for those who need it.

“Roughly about 6,000 vehicles use the 31st Street Bridge on an average day. It’s important to note that motorists coming from Lawrenceville will still be able to cross the bridge and access River Avenue down to the Herr’s Island area and Washington’s Landing,” Struzzi says. “It’s important to note that for people who do work on Herr’s Island.”

Councilman Proposes Reduced Funding to PAT

Allegheny County Council President Jim Burn is trying to pressure the Port Authority to use all of the $45 million in emergency flex funds it received in December from the state rather than spreading it out over 18 months. Riders' groups and the union representing bus drivers want the money used now to avoid a 15% cut in service and the layoffs of hundreds of workers effective March 27. PAT CEO Steve Bland says spreading out the flex funds will give state lawmakers more time to find a permanent funding stream for mass transit.

Burn says the PAT Board said last fall that it faced a $47 million shortfall and the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission agreed to "flex" the $45 million that was originally designated for road projects and send them to PAT because of the emergency nature of the transit agency's deficit.

“The purpose of the ask for the money was to stop any service cuts. By stretching the money over 18 months, they are going to make service cuts,” Burn says.

Burn says PAT has cut more than $50 million from its operating budget at the urging of the state but it now appears state funding for PAT will be $30 million less in 2011-12 than it is in the current fiscal year. The councilman says the state has not lived up to the terms of Act 44 for funding roads, bridges and mass transit. Burn says that means the required county match would also decline by nearly $5.1 million, and he will introduce an amendment calling for a reduction in county funding by that amount because he refuses to over-subsidize the organization (PAT) that he says “refuses to keep its word to the public.”

“Once they got the money, we are concerned that they then began to act in a fashion inconsistent with the initial ask,” Burn says. “We want them to use this money in a fashion consistent with what they had asked for in the first place.”(to eliminate the $47 million deficit for the current year)

Burn says he and his fellow colleagues in agreement with him on the council are willing to rescind this proposal if the PAT Board decides to use the state-allocated money in full this fiscal year.

Onorato Wants FAA to Send Flight to PGH

As Airports in Philadelphia and New York ask the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to expand, officials at airports in places like Pittsburgh and Cleveland are staring at under utilized facilities and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato wants something done about that. Onorato says he has been lobbying the FAA for nearly two years now to change the way it allocates landing slots. Onorato made his comments while addressing a meeting of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce in Coraopolis this morning.

Passengers originating or ending trips in Pittsburgh has grown in recent years but the total number of flights in and out of Pittsburgh has tumbled since USAirways pulled its hub from Pittsburgh International. Onorato says he, and members of the state’s congressional delegation, have asked the FAA to stop allowing expansions at airports along the congested East Coast and instead force those flights inland. “The FAA should, maybe not re-regulate, but intervene with the [slots] of how many planes can go into these airports. Before we spend billions of your money to expand these airports where there is no room, I would argue that for public safety reasons and national security reasons why not use facilities already built,” says Onorato.

Onorato says Pittsburgh is only 45 minutes from the East Coast where the FAA has just announced final approval for a $5 billion expansion at Philadelphia airport. A proposal to expand airports in New York has been floated as well. At the same time, the FAA says it is looking at ways to increase the number of planes that can be in the airspace around New York at any given time. “We’re saying, without spending a penny, use [Pittsburgh International],” says Onorato. He says, “it is a better move for the taxpayers. We’re not saying come to Pittsburgh and build something, we’re saying, use what you already built here.” Pittsburgh International was built to support USAirways’ hub.
Onorato is not the only person talking to the FAA about the plan to send more traffic away from the East Coast. Airports are lining up on both sides of the argument. Detractors say the airlines are struggling to pay their bills now and do not need the additional regulations.

Township Leaders Want Tax Payments Early

A league of Pennsylvania municipalities is urging Governor Tom Corbett to distribute fuel tax funds early so they can repair winter road damage.

The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors wants about $300 million in fuel tax revenue issued about two months earlier than its regular April 1 release.

The PSATS says this “unusually harsh winter” has made local roads unsafe for motorists.

But Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick says there might be drawbacks to releasing the funds early.

“It’s a matter of following what is provided for in state law,” says Kirkpatrick. “Currently, those payments are supposed to go April 1. Any deviation from that gets into a number of legal and technical issues that Governor Corbett’s administration is reviewing at this point.”

The association’s executive director David Sanko says if the state doesn’t release the money early, many local governments will have to borrow money and thus pay interest.

The fuel tax revenue was distributed early last year after former Governor Ed Rendell declared a state of emergency.

Cranberry Explores Options to Bus Service

The Port Authority of Allegheny County plans to cut service by 15% March 27 to help eliminate a budget shortfall.

The PAT board had previously approved a 35% service reduction to take effect in March but then Governor Ed Rendell came up with a plan to flex an additional $45 million to the transit agency to stave off those cuts until June of this year. The board has decided instead to cut service by 15-percent and put off any further cuts until June of 2012.

At the beginning of April, the last bit of PAT service to and from Cranberry, Butler County will be eliminated. Township Chief Planning Officer John Trant says ending the 13K Marshall Express will seriously reduce the travel options for an estimated 400 to 600 Cranberry residents who work in Pittsburgh. Trant says they've been looking for alternatives for years...

"We've partnered with other agencies and been involved in mass transit studies focused on the area and trying to address the issue. Our township supervisors have been involved in setting up a reverse commute system."

Trant says to help offset the cutback, they are collaborating with the CommuteInfo Program of the 10 county Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission to form new carpools and vanpools to link Cranberry with downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland....

"Our current effort is how to address the immediate need when the (PAT) service goes away and Cranberry Township residents no longer have it at their disposal. What alternatives to they have that can be ready now? Also, there is a continuing dialogue that's been going on for quite sometime about what to do about mass transit in the bigger picture."

There will be a public meeting February 17 at 7 p.m. at the Cranberry Municipal Center. Trant says it's not about discussing why the PAT cuts were made but rather to provide information about ridesharing and vanpool options and to gauge interest in creating new pools.

ATU Wants Transit Money Spent Now

The head of the Amalgamated Transit Union is not ready to give up his fight to convince the Port Authority of Allegheny County to stave off 15% service cuts in March. ATU Local 85 President Pat McMahon addressed the Port Authority Board this morning, and for the second month in a row he asked that it use up all of the money flexed to the authority by then governor Ed Rendell in this fiscal year rather than spreading it out over the next 18 months. By tripling the life of the funds, the authority will have to cut service by 15% as of March 27th. McMahon says the governor intended the authority to use all of the money up front to avoid any cuts. He says there should have been another round of public input before the decision was made last month. “Its too serious, there’s too many lives at stake, the public, we have taken the public out of this,” says McMahon, “I’m not going to get into legal issues, you have the moral responsibility to the public.”

In reaction, PAT CEO Steve Bland says the authority held extensive hearings on its plan to cut service by 35%. “At the point and time that we received [the flexed funds] there was not enough time to go through an exhaustive process,” says Bland, “all of the service reductions for March had already been covered.”

Bland believes putting off deeper cuts for an additional 12 months, gives lawmakers in Harrisburg a chance to find new revenues sources. McMahon says it takes the pressure off of those same lawmakers and sends a message that a smaller Port Authority is acceptable.

Population and Activity Grow Downtown

More people live downtown and more workers are using the bus to get there. Those are among the findings released Monday by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership as part of its regular surveys of downtown activity. In 2000 there were about 3,000 people calling the Golden Triangle, the North Shore, the Strip District and the Bluff home. That number jumped to 7,200 in 2010. PDP President and CEO Michael Edwards says the economy slowed the growth, “we had, in the pipeline, when the economy crashed, about 4,500 more units of housing… that were scheduled to be built in the area that we are talking about, and those have been delayed or not gone forward. If they had gone forward there would be another 5,000 people living downtown.”

The study finds the average household size increased to 1.5 people and one-third of residents have annual incomes of more than $100,000. Edwards says that is reflective of the relatively high cost of housing in the Golden Triangle but he notes there is some very affordable housing in the Strip and other places. The study also finds that the “peak age group” downtown is 25-29 and 4% of households include children.

The study also looks at those who come downtown on a regular basis but do not live there. Edwards says the average commute to downtown is 13 miles or 36-39 minutes, 4 in 10 commuters are age 35 or younger and 53% of commuters use public transportation. In 2003 the number was 48%. Edwards notes that the increase comes, “despite all the busing cut backs over the last few years.” He says, “I think it is really reflective of the increased cost of gasoline, the increased cost of parking, the more efficient bus system that people can get their heads around and understand.”

The study asked weekend users why they come downtown and among the top reasons was a never before seen response, “to work out and to exercise.” “Its because of the plethora of new biking trails and running trails and parks and things that have been delivered by RiverLife, the foundation community and others,” says Edwards. The PDP has started to use those amenities as it tries to attract residents and new businesses.


Other interesting fact in the study:
• Weekly average spending at Downtown restaurants/retailers by downtown residents: $183
• Two-thirds of Downtown workers are employed in Service or Finance industries
• Downtown employee count by industry class and census track: 126,370
• Liberty and Penn Avenue are heavily populated with workers, while the Boulevard of the Allies is mostly traveled by students
• Market Square and Fifth Avenue are seeing increased traffic and are among the busiest pedestrian areas due to recent revitalization
• Weekday foot traffic peaks at 8:15 a.m.; 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. and from 4:45 – 5:15 p.m. Largest peak is during the “lunch hour”

Download a PDP published summary sheet on the finding here.

Major Road Construction in 2011...After That...?????

Stretches of Route 28, Route 65, the Parkway East and the Crosstown Boulevard face major construction and rehabilitation work during 2011.
PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi says the "big one" is Route 28 with work to continue between the 31st Street Bridge and 40th Street Bridge as crews widen the roadway to add southbound bypass lanes to the 40th Street Bridge interchange...
"The next phase of the project, the large scale widening, from the Heinz Plant out to the 31st Street Bridge where it will connect with the project currently underway will start this summer as well."

Because of that, there will be a single lane northbound on parts of 28 between the city's North Side and Millvale until 2014 when the project is completed.
Struzzi says motorists have to understand that this is a major construction project and there's not a lot of room to do the work that needs to be done without impacting traffic but "when it's done, there will be free-flowing traffic through that corridor and there will be a dramatic improvement."

Struzzi says the $17 million rehabilitation of the Boston Bridge on Route 48 in Elizabeth Township will get into full swing in 2011 with some northbound lane closures of the bridge overnight and some weekends. He says this will be a good year to reduce the number of structurally-deficient bridges in the Pittsburgh area.

In addition, PennDOT will do a $14 million rehabilitation of the Crosstown Boulevard (I-579) to the Veterans' Bridge which will involve lane and ramp closures.
Struzzi says the 5 year rehabilitation of ramps and bridges on the Parkway East (I-376) between the Squirrel Hill Tunnels and the Pennsylvania Turnpike will wrap up during this next construction season.
Also, work will continue on the Route 65/Marshall Avenue interchange on Pittsburgh's North Side and there will be a new project in the North Hills, the Wexford Flats, on Route 19 near North Allegheny High School to widen and add turning lanes along the corridor..."If anyone travels that, you know it's very difficult to make left hand turns into any of the businesses up there."
Struzzi says motorists will see a lot of construction in 2011 because those projects are already funded, but the big impact of the transportation funding crisis will come in 2012....
"We're simply not designing projects for the future because we don't have the money to fund the design. A lot of people will scratch their heads when they hear about the funding crisis because they see all the improvements that we are making. But these improvements were planned a few years ago. The true dilemma is there is no plan for the future because there is no money to pay for it."

North Shore Connector Construction Continues

The North Shore Connector project continues, and expected to be finalized in early 2012 according to the Port Authority of Allegheny County's spokesperson Jim Ritchie.

The project's budget began at $435, but the budget has rose to $528.8 million.

Ritchie admits, "Since the overall "T" extension experienced some inflation area increase early on, basically in the design phase, the construction end of the project has been on budget and on schedule."

This demolition is a small step toward the completion of the 1.2 mile long "T" line under the Allegheny River.

PA Bridge Repairs Ahead of Schedule

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has exceeded its goal for repairing bridges over the past three years, but funding uncertainty could slow down the agency in the years to come.

PennDOT has repaired more than 1500 bridges since the start of the Accelerated Bridge Program in 2008, exceeding its expectations by about 450.

PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick says in 2010, the agency awarded 611 bridge contracts totaling $900 million. He says that reduced the total number of needy bridges from the 2008 high of 6,034 to almost 5,400 now.

But Kirkpatrick says despite reversing the growth of ‘structurally deficient’ bridges in the state, PennDOT still has plenty of work to do. And he says that won’t be easy, given the murky outlook for PennDOT funding.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds provided an extra boost of over a billion dollars for the state highway and bridge network, and that money is running out,” says Kirkpatrick.

The state’s Transportation Advisory Committee says the state is underfunding its transportation system by about $3.5 billion each year.

The PennDOT spokesman says the vast majority of ‘structurally deficient’ bridges are not unsafe, but he says PennDOT studies each bridge to determine which ones need repairs most urgently.