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Friday, January 31, 2003

PENNDOT: Highway spending faulted
Pennsylvania spent $10.2 billion in federal highway funds over the past 10 years but missed opportunities to repair more bridges and improve air quality, a national study by an environmental and planned land-use group has shown.

"We call upon the governor and transportation department to improve the record on clean-air spending and adopt a 'fix-it-first' policy for roads and bridges," rather than build new ones, said David Ginns, local coordinator of the Transportation for Liveable Communities Project.

The group, a partnership of Sustainable Pittsburgh and the Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Policy Project, said PennDOT spent only 41 percent of the money for road repairs over the 10-year period while 65 percent of state-owned roads are rated in "less than good" condition.

It also said PennDOT spent $2.8 billion in federal funds targeted for bridge repairs while 25 percent of the state's bridges were still structurally deficient as of 2001.

A total of $1.5 billion was spent on new highway capacity.