Pa. Governor Proposes $227 Million for Bridge Repairs, More Rail Capacity
By Michele Fuetsch, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the Feb. 16 print edition of Transport Topics.
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) has proposed spending $200 million for highway bridge repairs, plus $27 million to increase freight capacity for railroads, one of which plans to build an intermodal terminal in Pittsburgh.
The state’s rail investment would be for a partnership in which the railroads spend $2.7 billion to improve freight capacity in the state, Rendell said.
If the governor’s budget wins legislative approval, the state money would provide bridge and underpass clearance for double-stacked containers, said Rich Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
“If we make these investments, Pennsylvania will be the only state in the nation that has border-to-border clearance for double-stacked containers for the three major freight rail companies — Norfolk Southern, CSX and Canadian Pacific,” Rendell said in his 2009-10 budget presentation to the state legislature on Feb. 4.
The new intermodal terminal in Pittsburgh is to be built by CSX Corp., Kirkpatrick said.
Last year, CSX launched what it called the National Gateway Corridor project, which would provide double-stacked, intermodal service from North Carolina to Ohio. “A portion goes through southwestern Pennsylvania,” Kirkpatrick said.
In addition, Norfolk Southern Corp. plans the same sort of improvements in its Crescent Corridor. Rail freight along that corridor would move north from the Gulf Coast through Kentucky and Pennsylvania into New York state and beyond.
The $200 million that Rendell proposed for highway bridge repair is on top of the $350 million allocated in the current budget. The new money would be raised through the sale of bonds.
“The number of structurally deficient bridges is staggering — nearly 6,000 in all — and it is important to the public safety that they be repaired,” Rendell told the legislators.
The state maintains 25,300 state-owned bridges and 39,872 miles of road. The money Rendell proposed for improvements would be in addition to the estimated $450 million generated next year under Act 44. That measure allowed toll revenues from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to be used for transportation improvements around the state.
Act 44 was crafted originally in 2007 with the idea that Pennsylvania could persuade the federal government to allow the state to charge tolls on I-80.
The federal government, however, nixed the toll proposal last fall. So, to raise revenue for transportation, tolls were raised 25% on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in January and are to be raised 3% each year going forward.
