PennDOT Sec: Gas Tax Hike Not Being Considered

The head of a panel designed to find ways to fund repairs to the state's roads and bridges says tolling could be the most reliable way to go.
PennDOT's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission will hear a presentation Monday on the possibility of tolling Route 422 in Montgomery, Chester and Berks Counties.
The 30-member commission set up by Governor Tom Corbett looks for ways to pay for transportation improvements across the state.
PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch says tolling would provide a steady stream of income, but can't be used on many busy highways...

“Tolling certainly is mileage-based. It doesn't matter whether your car is electric, fuel cell, or gasoline or diesel. It all gets charged the same way. So that's a possibility in the future, but there are federal laws that restrict that, especially on our interstate systems, so unless they change that won't be a part of the immediate future.”

Schoch says the commission is examining tolls because other sources of funding, like gas taxes, are shrinking...

“If you owned a car in the 1970s chances are it got less than 15 miles-per-gallon. Today you probably get around 30 miles-per-gallon. So, you travel the same amount of miles per year, but you buy half as much gas as you did back in the 70s, and that's a large chunk of how we get our revenue to build the roads and bridges.”

Shoch says the commission is looking for plans that will generate two-and-a-half million dollars in recurring revenue over four or five years. He says the commission has been instructed not to look at increasing the gas tax. But if nothing is done to find more money, he says the department may have to close bridges and roadways as they fall into serious disrepair

Aggressive Driving Targeted in SW PA

PennDOT is partnering with local law enforcement and State Police in cracking down on aggressive driving in southwestern Pennsylvania now through March 27. Jay Ofsanik of PennDOT says they've been doing these "aggressive driving enforcement waves" since 2006 to reduce crashes and fatalities.....
"Speeding, tailgating someone, improper passing, weaving in and out of traffic, people who run red lights, do 'boulevard' (rolling) stops at stop signs instead of coming to a complete stop, are the types of behaviors police are looking for."
Ofsanik says they look at particular crash records and then determine the roadways that have a high incident rate of aggressive driving and then have police specifically target those roads.
PennDOT uses grants from the Federal Highway Administration to reimburse local police departments and state police for any extra costs including overtime.
According to Ofsanik, over the next 5 weeks they will be targeting 83 roads in the Pittsburgh region including Route 51 in Westmoreland County, Route 30 near Greensburg, Route 22 in Murrysville, Route 19 in McCandless Township, Route 50 in Collier Township and the Interstates.
He says the program has been effective citing the example of a stretch of Route 51 between Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. Ofsanik says prior to the program starting in 2006, there were 6 fatalities in 5 years in that corridor. But since the crackdown, there have been no fatalities in the last 5 years.

Snow Slows Region

More than 8 inches of snow fell on the Pittsburgh region in the span of about 12 hours and that has transportation officials scrambling. The Port Authority of Allegheny County suspended service around 10:00 Monday night when conditions became unsafe or impassable on nearly every route. PAT spokesperson Jim Ritchie says managers began sending out buses again around 5 am this morning and by 6 am had buses on all but 25 routes. Service to the remaining routes is slowly being restored. Anyone planning to take the bus this morning should head to a main route if it seems like other traffic is having a hard time getting down the street where they normally catch the bus. Ritchie says the T is running well.

Callers to the Port Authority’s service center are experiencing long delays and PAT’s main web page has been crippled. Ritchie says the best way to get information this morning is to go to the Port Authority’s twitter page at twitter.com/pghtransit.

Pittsburgh Public works crews hit the street last night using trucks and salt stationed at eight different locations throughout the city. As of 6:30, Pittsburgh Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski says about 90% of the city 800 miles of main road had been treated more than once. He says they are now doing touchup work on the main routes and have shifted focused to the secondary streets. He is asking residents on those streets to be patient. He says it will take 12-24 hours to get to every street in the city. Many of those streets have a layer of ice below the snow. In the meantime, he is asking residents to stay off the secondary streets if possible. He also reminds those who are digging out and brushing off cars parked on the streets, to not put the snow into the travel lanes. He says car owners need to move that snow to the side of the road or place it in front or behind their cars.

State Crews are also fighting the snow. PennDOT Spokesperson Jim Struzzi says they are “In the midst of a big battle here.” Struzzi says most of the interstates are just wet in the main traffic lanes but have various amounts of snow in the passing lanes and on the shoulders. Crews continue to work on the ramps to and from the highways and on the bridges. Work on the Parkway North was hindered last night when people abandon their vehicles. The off ramp to McKnight Road had the most problems after a series of accidents forced the state to close the ramp. Several abandon cars are still on the side of I-279. Struzzi says plows and salt trucks are now turning their attentions to the secondary state maintained roads. He reminds drivers to expect varying conditions as the travel and he says all drivers need to remember to clear off their cars of all snow and ice before starting their commute.

PennDOT Works to Fix Bridges

The number of structurally deficient bridges in PennDOT District 11 (Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence County) is at its lowest in recent years. Last year District 11 opened construction bids for improvements on 81 bridges, 54 of which were deficient. Since 2007 the number of deficient bridges have decreased from 605 to 484, about 26 percent of the districts bridges.

District Executive Dan Cessna, says that PennDOT has worked hard to keep up with deficient bridges. "We've more than doubled our bridge program over the last three years due to having additional funding. We've made significant progress, but as everyone knows, our infrastructure around the region is very old and it continues to age, and new bridges become structurally deficient every several weeks."

Cessna says that improvement on deficient bridges will continue into 2011. The upcoming construction season will see bids opened for more than $150 million in projects to repair, replace, preserve, and maintain 71 bridges, 42 of which are rated structurally deficient. He says that the improvement of bridges will continue beyond the 2012 season, but an end to stimulus money might reduce the number of projects the district will move into construction.

Tolling I-80 Fight Might be Back

Despite being turned down the first time, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission plans to reapply for approval to toll Interstate 80. Last September, the Federal Highway Administration denied a request to convert I-80 into a toll road, noting proceeds could not be used to fund improvements on other highways as had been proposed by the governor. Officials from the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT recently met with their federal counterparts to talk about a new plan. Commission spokesman Bill Capone says one of the main issues discussed in that session was the fair market value of I-80. He says, “They wanted to see more supportive information in terms of the way those rental payments...how they were arrived at in terms of is it the appropriate amount of rent for leasing I-80 from PennDOT." Capone says the commission is working to satisfy that and other concerns, and plans to resubmit its tolling application – perhaps within months. Opponents of tolling I-80 say it would hurt local economies and put a strain on other roads. They insist there are better options for raising cash for construction projects.

International Bridge Conference

Bridge engineers and engineering firms from around the world will be gathering in Pittsburgh this weekend for the 26th annual International Bridge Conference, to be held from June 14 through the 17. Conference Technical Chairperson Jeff Campbell says a wide range of topics are covered, including bridge construction, bridge repair, equipment efficiency and cost efficiency. He says it has been gaining a lot of influence over the years, and it's one of the biggest gatherings of the topic in the country. He expects 1,500 attendees over the four-day event. Last year, participants came from 47 states and 18countries.

State Police Increase Patrols in Washington County

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and state police will be cracking down on unsafe driving along a certain section of Interstate 70 this summer. Starting Monday, patrols will be bolstered from Exit 11 near Washington, PA to Exit 57, near New Stanton. PennDOT spokesman Jay Ofsanik says the patrol increase is part of the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) campaign, which attempts to address a large amount of recent accidents involving heavy trucks. Ofsanik says that's no reason for car drivers to be careless, though. "They're going to be watching everybody, and people need to understand that it's just not trucks who cause accidents. It's also cars that don't respect trucks and give them enough room," says Ofsanik.

PennDOT Makes Wish List

With President Obama now in office, and expected to push an infrastructure stimulus package, PennDOT has prepared by making a list of how to spend the possible money. Thus far, PennDOT is seeking for approximately $1.5 billion in funding for road and bridge projects through the state, including almost $200 million for projects within Allegheny County.

PennDOT Spokesperson Jim Struzzi reminds everyone that the list is preliminary, and it has been made to ensure that additional funding would be spent properly if they received it. He says most of projects listed within Allegheny County are existing projects that need more funding.

Key county projects include the North Side expansion and upgrade of Route 28, the Fort Duquesne Bridge upgrade, the re-organization of the Routes 22-30-60 interchange in Robinson, and Liberty Tunnel updates.

Tips for Winter Weather Driving

According to PennDOT, it's important to be prepared for winter conditions. PennDOT Spokesperson Erin Waters says it's drivers should be sure to have properly functioning cars to best prevent an accident. Drivers should pay particular attention to the battery, the heating and cooling system, and tires. She says it is also recommended to keep an emergency kit in the trunk that contains non-perishable foods, first aid supplies, and other things specific to needs such as a small shovel, children's games, and extra medication.

Waters says non-essential driving should be postponed if road conditions are poor. However, if going out, drivers should not drive recklessly, such as speeding, or change lanes carelessly.

In preparing for the worst, such as having car trouble or being stranded in poor driving weather, Waters says it is best to pull over to the side of the road and to call for help. If stranded for a long period of time, turn the car on and off in 30-minute intervals to keep warm and preserve gas.

PA DOT Plans 2009 in Dist. 11

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has laid out plans for more than $300 million in road and bridge improvements in Allegheny County in 2009. That is about equal to the amount spent in 2008. Work to improve the Parkway East will continue. For the next two years that work will focus on the section of highway from Monroeville to the Turnpike. The good news is that there will not be any full closures and usually two lanes will be flowing during peak hours.
Work on the Parkway North will also continue in 2009. This time the cones and barrels will move further north with the work focusing on the area between Mc Knight Road and the 279-79 merge.
Northbound RT 28 in Etna will be closed all summer as Penn Dot works on that interchange. Crews will also be resurfacing RT 28 all the way out to the Butler County line.
To the west of the city work around the missing ramps project continues. Although the ramps are open to traffic there is still work to be done on 279 and 79. Work on the west end circle will also continue.
Penn Dot Spokesperson Jim Struzi says much of the work elsewhere in the county will focus on bridges including the ongoing rehabilitation of the McKees Rocks Bridge. He says the focus on “structurally deficient bridges” will continue. Struzi says the biggest problem is that many of the bridges in the region are old and as Penn Dot fixes deficient bridges other bridges are placed on that list.
Struzi says if the federal government comes up with a stimulus plan that includes infrastructure funding, like is being requested by several governors, Penn Dot is ready with a long list of projects. He says every year there are projects that go unfunded.
Struzi reminds everyone to drive safely in repair zones.

Missing Ramp not Missing Any More

Motorists driving from the airport to I-79 north no longer have to get off the highway. The last of the two so-called missing ramps connecting I-79 and the parkway west was opened to traffic this morning. The other “missing” ramp connecting southbound I-79 to the outbound Parkway West opened in late November. Penn DOT District Executive Dan Cessna says "Both ramps serve as vital transportation conduits that will benefit our region for many years to come." In the past drivers had to get off the highway and onto RT 60 to make the connection. The changes are expected to cut drive times fro that trip by 45%. At the same time it will take pressure off the heavily congested section of state highway by reducing traffic by about 20%. In addition to the ramp installation, extensive work is being done to Route 22/30 to add an additional lane in both directions. That portion of the $67.5 million project will continue into next year. The new curved bridge is equipped with an automated anti icing system that will spray de-icing material on the road automatically when dangerous weather conditions exist.

Parkway North Improvements Begin

An $11.2 million construction project on Interstate 279 (Parkway North) began today. Work starts with the reconstruction of the HOV lanes which will remain closed until after July 4th. PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi says the construction is part of preventative maintenance on the roadway. As a result of the HOV lanes closing, Struzzi also advises that drivers be prepared for heavy traffic on the Parkway North. Work on the HOV lane is stage I of a 3-stage reconstruction project aimed at preventing deterioration of the 19 year-old interstate. The HOV will be used to carry one lane of mainline traffic when work begins on the southbound, or inbound lanes of the Parkway North between Exit 7 Route 28 and Exit 15 Camp Horne Road. The majority of the roadwork will be at night and on weekends. After Labor Day, the work will switch to the outbound lanes.

Birmingham Bridge Repairs Begin Today

PennDOT crews began working today to repair the Birmingham Bridge which was damaged when a 60-foot pier shifted this winter. Problems began February 8 when the superstructure on the southbound lanes shifted downward and, after inspection, it was determined the bridge pier had moved as well. PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi says there was no way to predict the bridge shift. Traffic will not be impacted while repairs are made to the northbound pier nor while the rocker-bearing system is replaced by neoprene pads. In December, when work begins on the southbound pier, lanes will shift, but traffic will remain a single lane in each direction. Southbound work includes the removal and replacement of the 1,050 ton pier. In response to the Birmingham Bridge incident, PennDOT has begun inspecting the other 1,741 bridges in its district 11 region. Of those, 241 have similar rocker-bearing systems. 5 bridges in the district with that system are currently being addressed.

PennDot announces work on Interstate 279 (parkway North)

PennDOT district 11 has announced the timetable for construction activities to take place on the parkway north (interstate 279) and the HOV lanes. The HOV lanes will be closed after the morning rush hour on Monday June 2ND and will remain closed through the July 4Th weekend. After that work will shift to the Southbound lanes up until the Labor day weekend with work shifting to the Northbound lanes after that. The Project is expected to be completed in the fall. During construction on the North and Southbound lanes the HOV lanes will be opened for regular traffic so two lanes will be operating in each direction. The work in preventative repairs because the interstate has not seen any serious work since it's opening in 1989. The work is a part of an 11.2 Million dollar repair effort. More information can be found at PennDOT's district 11 website.

Birmingham Bridge Reopening

PennDot press officer Jim Struzzi said the Birmingham Bridge might reopen one lane in each direction as early as late next week. the temporary traffic pattern would be on the southbound lane of the bridge. the bridge has been inspected and no other repairs are needed. PennDot also inspected the Neville island bridge which is of similar design, and found no problems. The total reopening of the bridge might not come for months as the northbound side is retrofitted to prevent a similar occurrence.

PennDot says Birmingham Bridge needs more work

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation engineers say they will have to replace a bearing system on the Birmingham bridge that failed Feb 8 causing a portion of the span to drop 8 inches. crews are now shoring up the span and designing a new bearing system. Penn Dot Dist. 11 Executive Dan Cessna says design work and weather will determine how fast repairs can be made but the goal is still to get half of the bridge open by the last week of Feb. At first only the south bound side of the bridge will be open with one lane in each direction. The rest of the bridge has been inspected and Cessna says it is safe. A similar bridge on I-79 over Nevil island has also been inspected and deemed safe. The cause of the 8-inch drop has not yet been determined.

Birmingham Bridge Closed for 2 Weeks

The bridge connecting Oakland to the South Side of Pittsburgh will remain closed while crews work to repair the southbound bridgespan and pier, after part of the deck dropped nearly 8 inches early Friday morning.
PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi says crews are now erecting temporary shoring towers to take weight off of the 60-foot pier while they inspect under the bridge and see what repairs and replacements are needed. There is no cost estimate at this time. A complete re-inspection is nearly completed, showing a structurally sound bridge, and the dropped span is an isolated incident.
Struzzi says PennDOT was alerted to the problem after a 9-1-1 call reported a bulge on the bridge. Once the magnitude of the damage was known, the bridge was completely closed. A girder slipped off a rocker bearing, which allows the bridge to respond to temperature changes. Struzzi says nearly every bridge has rocker bearings, and there are very few problems with them that can't be anticipated by inspections.

Boulevard Bridge Closes Jan. 3

The Boulevard of the Allies bridge in Oakland will close tomorrow night at 11 for construction. PennDOT is dismantling and replacing the deteriorated bridge. The project is expected to last into November.

The project will also affect the section of Forbes Avenue that goes under the Boulevard bridge. Forbes Avenue will close this weekend to allow demolition to begin. Forbes Avenue will be open the weekend of January 12, but is scheduled to close again the following weekend. In late April, Forbes Avenue will also be reduced to a single lane for about four months.

PennDOT says most motorists will be able to get around the Boulevard construction by using Forbes and Fifth Avenues. During the times Forbes is closed, the primary detour will be the Parkway East. More information is available on PennDOT's website and through the Oakland Transportation Management Association.