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New Weight Restrictions Likely on Hundreds of Pennsylvania Bridges

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The legislature was unable to agree on a transportation funding package before the summer session break.  Now, lawmakers have been told  that  the consequences are coming soon.

State Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch told the state senate Transportation committee during a hearing Wednesday that the lack of additional funding will mean fewer contracts let this year and more restrictions on aging state and locally owned bridges.

PennDOT structural engineers are evaluating over one thousand state owned bridges and Schoch says there are an equal number of locally owned bridges that are also candidates for weight restrictions.  He expects about half of the bridges will see new restrictions starting this summer

Schoch says they have no choice with no new funding for reconstruction and replacement.

Schoch says the restrictions will mean longer commutes for haulers, school buses and emergency vehicles.     He also told the transportation committee that even if lawmakers approve a funding plan in the fall, this construction season will already have been lost for projects that might have been started with the additional money.

In other testimony, an analysis by the American Road and Transportation Builders Alliance says fewer contracts could cost the state’s economy more than one billion over five years and jeopardize thousands of jobs.

The organization’s chief economist adds that commuters, first responders, school buses and trucks cross structurally deficit bridges in Pennsylvania an average of 51.5 million times per day.

New Report says More than One-Quarter of Bridges In Pennsylvania Are Deficient

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A report from the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group says its analysis shows the state has the highest percentage of deficient bridges in the country. Breaking down county-by county data, PennPIRG says it finds that over 26% of the state’s bridges are rated structurally deficient by government standards.

Program Associate Alana Miller says bridges should be a top priority as Pennsylvania looks for ways to fund transportation projects.

 Miller says some deficient bridges have weight or travel restrictions, leading to more traffic congestion. She says we’ve been putting off maintenance, and highway builders have been lobbying for wider roads or more highways when we need to focus on problems that need to be fixed right now.

Miller says fixing what we have will save money, improve safety and create jobs.  She says it will give us the most out of our transportation dollars.

Miller says Pennsylvania needs to focus on “fix it first”.  She says in 2008, the state needed to spend 7.8 billion dollars to bring all of its bridges into good repair.  She says the state only spent less than half a billion dollars.  She thinks that’s a good example of how Pennsylvania is prioritizing what it’s doing.