PennDOT To Target Key Bridges & Roads With New Funding
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- If you think the road and bridge repair this past summer was pretty intense, wait until you see what happens next year.
"There will be many resurfacing projects and bridge repair projects that we will bid over this winter and ready to go into construction," Dan Cessna, PennDOT District 11 Executive, told KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano.
All thanks to the $2.3 billion dollar transportation funding bill the General Assembly passed -- and Gov. Tom Corbett will sign.
"In Allegheny County, we'll see about a $15.8 million increase in our maintenance allocation and that will be used primarily for resurfacing but that we will do a number of bridge repairs with that money also," Cessna noted.
That's a 20 percent boost in funding.
PennDOT has not signed off on all the specifics yet, but KDKA has learned of some key projects.
With the governor holding a press conference here a few weeks ago, it's no surprise the Birmingham Bridge is a top priority in 2014.
New steel will be installed, bearings will be replaced, expansion spans will be replaced, and the whole bridge will be repainted.
The Liberty Bridge repairs will be advanced to 2015, and bridges with weight restrictions will get targeted soon, too.
As for road resurfacing, Cessna says Route 60 in Moon and Robinson between I-79 and I-376 will be resurfaced next year
"We don't have a list yet of all the resurfacing projects that we will do, but we will get many other roads resurfaced in Allegheny County and around the district," Cessna added.
PennDOT also says the boost in funding means more jobs and work here locally.
"Eighty-five percent of our budget goes out to the private sector," said Cessna.
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