HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E., said that Pennsylvania, under Gov. Edward G. Rendell, has responded aggressively to the state’s backlog of bridge needs, including tapping federal recovery dollars to help address these pressing maintenance issues.
“Make no mistake, Pennsylvania is focused on its bridges and the record is clear,” Biehler said.
A story issued late Thursday by the national Associated Press contends states are not using recovery funds to address structurally deficient bridges. Biehler made these points about Pennsylvania’s approach:
–Pennsylvania assigned 40 percent of its $1.026 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allocation to bridges, including 105 SD bridges and preservation repairs on 399 bridges. This was the largest dollar allocation to any highway and bridge area for the state. As of July 24, Pennsylvania had opened bids on 212 ARRA recovery projects, both for bridge and other improvements, and had awarded 190 contracts worth $447 million.
–Rendell has focused on addressing bridges since he’s been in office, raising annual investment from $259 million in 2002 to more than $1 billion a year now.
–For the first time in memory this year, the number of structurally deficient bridges fell in Pennsylvania, from 6,035 to 5,911 in March.
–Rendell’s Accelerated Bridge Program started work on 470 structurally deficient bridges in the fiscal year that just ended and he has asked for more funds to start work on another 403 structurally deficient bridges in the coming fiscal year.
–Regarding the ARRA program, an important criteria was that work had to move quickly to get money into the economy. It is often the case with bridge projects that environmental and other issues impede immediate or quick action.
“As president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), I know how hard states are working to address bridge needs and use the ARRA funds to help meet those goals,” Biehler said. “We in Pennsylvania are taking ongoing and effective steps to ensure we make headway on our critically important bridges.”