Federal infrastructure bill giving ‘much-needed boost’ to PennDOT projects
The $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill passed in late 2021 is injecting a “much-needed boost” of money into road projects in Pennsylvania, but transportation officials acknowledged that it’s only a temporary stop-gap measure with more sustainable funding needed in the future.
Pennsylvania will receive about $13 billion during the five-year life span of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for highway and bridge projects, which is helping the state rebound in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It provided a much-needed boost to our transportation system, and to the transportation system as a whole across the country,” said Andy Waple, deputy executive director for programs with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. “I think we’re a little farther ahead.”
That’s been good news the past two years as the state Department of Transportation has steadily increased the number of construction projects following the slowdown during the pandemic. But with more electric cars on the road and gasoline-powered vehicles getting better fuel mileage, traditional gas taxes aren’t going as far as they once did.
“If we don’t change the way (transportation) funding is collected … it’s going to continue to decline,” Waple said. “It’s not sustainable.”
During a press conference Tuesday morning at PennDOT’s District 12 office in Eighty Four, transportation officials touted current and future highway projects while also keeping an eye on the challenges to adequately fund them.
There are currently 607 projects with an estimated cost of $2.7 billion that are expected to be bid out for contract this year across the state. In PennDOT’s District 12 that includes Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, there are 66 projects worth $279 million planned to begin this year. The infrastructure bill is credited with helping to boost funds for District 12’s road projects to the highest levels since 2016 after dipping to just $74.2 million in 2020.
“But it still doesn’t fill all the needs of the transportation system,” PennDOT District 12 Executive Bill Kovach said about the federal infrastructure law. “The hope is the level of funding will continue beyond this five-year bill. I don’t know if anyone knows for sure, but it’d be helpful if it did.”
The state Legislature attempted to address the funding problems a decade ago when it passed Act 89 in 2013 that ostensibly raised the state’s gasoline tax and increased motor vehicle and driver’s license fees. But portions of that revenue have been diverted to state police and other programs, causing the amount of money earmarked for highway and bridge projects to dip.
To compound that problem, there are anticipated gaps in future transportation funding because the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon has not changed in nearly three decades. The stagnated tax coupled with inflation taking a bigger bite out of the buying power for construction projects could lead to problems when funding from the infrastructure bill ends in 2026.
Waple acknowledged that the infrastructure bill was never meant to be the “end all be all” for transportation funding, but many states will have to find different revenue sources a few years from now after it sunsets. While not endorsing any particular option, Waple said some ideas to replace the gasoline tax include mileage-based payments, annual assessments on a vehicle or taxing electric vehicles.
“It will take a combination of things,” he said.
Kovach added that there are multiple studies happening across the country and within states looking at alternative collection methods beyond the traditional gasoline tax.
“I think everyone agrees, long-term, there are going to need to be changes how transportation is funded,” Kovach said. “It’s a high-level issue. Every state is looking at it. I’m confident, over time, there will be a solution.”
- ”Waynesburg Betterment” improvements to Route 19/21 in downtown Waynesburg
- Route 711 Crawford Avenue Bridge reconstruction in Connellsville
- Diverging Diamond Interchange on I-70 at Route 51 in Rostraver Township
- Route 18 surface improvements from Route 844 to Route 50 in Washington County
- Route 21 overpass reconstruction above Route 166 near Masontown
- Roundabout construction at Valleybrook and Bebout roads in Peters Township
- Layton Bridge temporary preservation project near Perryopolis