• November 12th, 2021
• 0 Comments

With the signing of Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill just days away, WESA recently spoke with Pittsburgh-area leaders who are already crafting their pitch in an effort to maximize the region's share of the money. Pennsylvania is slated to receive about $18 billion for public works projects like road and bridge repairs (rated as the 11th or 12th worst in the nation earlier this year by non-profit research group TRIP), water system improvements, broadband deployment, and more, according to Gov. Wolf's office.

The 2,702-page legislative text is available online, but what does it say and how might it impact our region?

In a nutshell, the bill would accomplish many long-standing priorities including:

• A new, long-term surface transportation reauthorization for highway, bridge, and transit systems
• The largest investment in Amtrak since its founding
• Meaningful commitments to transportation safety and project streamlining
• Critical new investments in water, stormwater, and broadband projects
• Increased investments in off-system bridges including county-owned bridges that are not part of the federal-aid highway system

Using the money Pennsylvania has taken in for past infrastructure projects as a guide, one White House estimate expects that state will allocate funds to:

• $11.3 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs
• $1.6 billion for bridge replacement and repairs
• $2.8 billion over five years for public transportation systems
• $171 million over five years to help expand the state's electric vehicle charging network
• $100 million to build up broadband infrastructure in rural areas
• A share of $3.5 billion going to states for "weatherization projects" aimed at lessening storm impacts
• $1.4 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects
• $355 million over five years for airport improvements

The legislation combines previously approved funds with $550 billion in new spending that the Senate approved back on July 28 and cleared the House last Friday. Here are the main points:

Local leaders responded:

Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce president Matt Smith believes that "Pittsburgh can be a model for the deployment of this investment, and you can take what we're able to create here in Pittsburgh and scale it through the country, throughout the globe." He noted that federal agencies will disburse more than $100 billion through competitive grant programs.

Smith said that transit agencies will use the federal money to electrify their fleets, and that the Port Authority of Allegheny County will be able to expand service to the Mon Valley. "We have the assets, ready-to-go projects and the partnerships to drive transformational change and demonstrate to federal policymakers that our region is best to invest. These ready-to-go projects – inland waterways upgrades, Pittsburgh International Airport's terminal modernization, high-speed broadband expansion and accessibility, and improvements in critical road and bridge infrastructure – lay the foundation for long-term, large-scale, region-wide projects."

In conversation with the Pittsburgh Business Times, Executive Director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Vincent Valdes, said, "The recently passed infrastructure bill will help close the digital divide in our region. It will increase broadband access and lower prices for internet service by delivering $65 billion in broadband infrastructure deployment across the country. The bill also will infuse an additional $4 billion in new federal funds to increase PennDOT’s statewide allotment from $9 billion to $13 billon over a five-year period, helping to close the state’s growing transportation funding gap. Accordingly, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission will work with our state and local partners to make sure that important southwestern Pennsylvania transportation priorities are addressed through this increased funding."

Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald was quick to herald the good news. He noted how the bill is "going to put a lot of people to work" and, when asked where it might help the most, he said, "it's really all of the above." That includes the prospect for expanding transit, specifically referencing the potential to expand the East Busway and widen Bates Street into Oakland, as well as providing a major new source of funding to help ALCOSAN meet the demands of the federal consent decree over Allegheny County's stormwater management issues. "This was one of the arguments that Congressman Mike Doyle has been making for years now... the idea for this consent decree was there was going to be a shared cost between the local rate payers and the government coming out of this. That really hasn't occurred until now. Now the feds are going to step up and provide some of the funding."

Port Authority CEO Katherine Kelleman applauded the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act saying, "Public transit is uniquely positioned to support every facet of our society, from getting people to and from work, school, and the grocery store, and elsewhere, to easing traffic congestion for those who share the roads with us, to providing good union jobs that support families and communities."