For Immediate Release:  Thursday, January 30, 2003

Contact:  David Ginns, 412-258-6652

 

 

ROAD REPAIR, TRAFFIC SAFETY & DIRTY AIR: REPORT RATES PENNSYLVANIA ON TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES

 

 

Analysis finds Pennsylvania has shifted millions in bridge repair and air quality funding - groups call for more accountability.

 

 

PITTSBURGH - New financial analysis finds that nationally, investments of just over $300 billion over the last 10 years under federal transportation programs have helped improve the Interstate highway system and rehabilitate the nation's bridges, though Pennsylvania has used federal accounting loopholes to shift money out of bridge repair and air pollution reduction accounts in favor of other priorities.  The report and Pennsylvania state figures are online at www.transact.org.

 

 

The report - titled "The $300 Billion Question: Are We Buying A Better Transportation System?" and released by the national Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) - finds that Pennsylvania underspent on bridge repairs and clean air mitigation.

 

 

The state spent only 41% of funds available for road repair over the 10 year period, and today two in three Pennsylvania roads (65%) are rated in less than good condition. Despite $2.8 billion in federal funds targeted for bridge repair over 10 years, the state of Pennsylvania's bridges remains dismal, such that 25% (5,390) of the state's bridges were found structurally deficient in 2001.  The state spent only 56% of targeted federal bridge repair funds, with the remainder largely diverted to other programs.  For instance, state spending of more flexible Surface Transportation Program funds was 265% of apportionments.

 

 

"The good news is that things have got10 better as a result of targeted transportation funds under the two most recent federal transportation bills, ISTEA and TEA-21," said Kevin McCarty, Senior Policy Director for the Washington, DC-based Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP). "The bad news is that we would have had fewer potholes and cleaner air if states hadn't played a shell game with the taxpayers' transportation dollars."

 

 

The State of Pennsylvania spent a total of $10.2 billion of federal highway funds in 10 years.  Of this amount, only 6% was spent on transit projects, 0.4% on bicycle/pedestrian projects, 12% percent on safety projects and 2.3% on community/environmental mitigation programs.  The combined spending on these programs is less than the 25% the state spent on new roadways and bridges that added capacity for automobiles.  $1.5 billion was spent on new road capacity over the 10-year period.  These figures are online at http://www.transact.org/progress/pdfs/February03/table_3.pdf.

 

 

Pennsylvania had the 14th lowest record on spending federal Clean Air/Congestion Mitigation funds (73%), leaving an unspent balance of $164 million.  Meanwhile, air quality has degraded.  In 2001, the state recorded 178 million person days of unhealthy air, and increase of 34% over 10 years.

 

 

"Pennsylvania has missed an opportunity to repair bridges and improve air quality," said David Ginns, Transportation for Livable Communities Project Coordinator.  "We call on the Governor and the Department of Transportation to improve the record on clean air spending and adopt a "fix-it-first" policy with roads and bridges."

 

 

The report details five recommendations to help national policy-makers evaluate pending and future ballot measures through an in-depth review provided by five case studies. Among the report's recommendations: (1) Require Clearer Goals and Reward Performance; (2) Fix Accounting Loopholes in the Current TEA-21 law, (3) Build more Transparency into Transportation Finance, (4) Require "Fix-it-First" Provisions for Roads and Bridges Similar to Rules that Currently Exist for Public Transportation Systems; and (5) Devolve Federal Transportation Dollars Beyond State Agencies to Local Governments.

 

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The Transportation for Livable Communities Project is a partnership of Sustainable Pittsburgh and the Surface Transportation Policy Project serving to advance transportation reform in southwestern Pennsylvania

 

 

Sustainable Pittsburgh is a public-policy advocacy groups that links economic prosperity, ecological health, and social equity.  For more information on Sustainable Pittsburgh, call (412) 258-6642, email info@sustainablepittsburgh.org, or visit our Web site at www.sustainablepittsburgh.org.

 

 

The Surface Transportation Policy Project ensures that transportation policy and investments help conserve energy, protect environmental and aesthetic quality, strengthen the economy, promote social equity, and make communities more livable by emphasizing the needs of people, rather than vehicles. For more information on STPP, call  (202) 466-2247, email stpp@transact.org, or visit our Web site at www.transact.org/default.asp.