The Daily Item
July 24, 2024
In summer, our roads get fixed. We all know that. And we act accordingly. We watch for and heed speed limit restrictions designed to keep PennDOT workers safe.
Yet, as we traveled to upstate New York to visit relatives last Friday, we were astounded by the number of bridges under repair. As much as it frustrated us to be in standstill traffic again and again on Interstates 80 and 81, we realized something important: The inconvenience we experienced is evidence of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 at work.
Here’s why it matters to all of us:
A report released in 2022 by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, found that Pennsylvania’s rural roads and bridges are among the most deteriorated in the country. Of the top 20 states ranked in the report with the most decaying infrastructure, Pennsylvania ranked 13th.
In Pennsylvania, there are 3,353 bridges and more than 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition. According to the White House, $13.2 billion in funding from the Act has been allocated to Pennsylvania roads, bridges, roadway safety, and other major infrastructure projects.
My family witnessed those dollars in action!
Further, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in Harrisburg this week to announce a $500 million Large Bridge Project grant to PennDOT for much-needed repairs to the I-83 South Bridge that spans the Susquehanna River — part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program, an arm of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act goes further. It includes a $69 million investment for Pennsylvania through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program that “will support projects to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas to increase connectivity, improve the safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, and generate regional economic growth, and improve quality of life.”
As these roads and bridges improve, we motorists will spend less money on additional vehicle operating costs — the result of driving on rough roads — the cost of lost time, wasted fuel due to congestion, and the financial cost of traffic crashes.”
And that’s great news for all of us!
Erica Shames
Lewisburg