advertisement

---

Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Wonderling joined Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) officials in calling for increased investment in transportation infrastructure during a press conference at the site of an endangered SEPTA improvement project.

The 80-year-old Wayne Junction Substation was slated for an overhaul until SEPTA officials were forced to cut $110 million from the agency’s capital budget after the U.S. Department of Transportation denied the state’s request to turn Interstate 80 into a toll road. The change would have freed up funding typically reserved for maintaining the roadway for SEPTA and other transit agencies around the state.

“Without reliable, consistent investment in SEPTA’s infrastructure, the Philadelphia region faces major service interruptions brought on by infrastructure that inevitably will break down,” said Nutter during the press conference. “Interruptions in service would have a very real impact on the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on SEPTA to get to work and the thousands of businesses that rely on SEPTA to bring their employees and customers to them. It’s vital that Harrisburg acts to make sure SEPTA has the revenue to keep the Philadelphia region’s economy on the move.”