Pennsylvania adopts plan to invest billions in transportation improvements over next 12 years

Pennsylvania's State Transportation Commission has updated a statewide transportation plan that calls for allocating $63.2 billion over the next 12 years for improvements to railroads, transit systems, roads, bridges and airports, state officials announced yesterday.

The available dollars stem from the Pennsylvania Legislature's passage of Act 89, a new transportation funding law that will add $2.3 billion per year in transportation investments by 2017, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) press release.

State officials anticipate budgeting $7.9 billion for public transit, $228 million for Pennsylvania's freight-rail system and $284 million for a newly created multi-modal fund in the first four years of the newly adopted program, which takes effect Oct. 1.

Four rural planning organizations, 19 metropolitan planning organizations and one independent county worked with PennDOT to review and develop the plan update. It will now be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration for review and approval. The Federal Highway Administration coordinates with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review the plan’s conformity with air quality requirements.

To learn more about the list of projects, follow this link.