HARRISBURG – Declaring that Pennsylvania must act boldly to fix its huge number of structurally deficient bridges, high-hazard dams and out dated aviation and rail freight facilities, Gov. Edward G. Rendell urged the General Assembly to approve his rebuilding Pennsylvania proposal.
“Pennsylvania has close to 6,000 structurally deficient bridges that are in desperate need of repair,” said Rendell. “We can, and we must, repair 1,000 of those in the next three years. We simply must do more now to avoid serious travel disruptions down the road.
“Rebuilding Pennsylvania will finally address every state-owned, unsafe, high-hazard dam, in an effort to keep surrounding homes and communities safe.
“This initiative will also dramatically increase funding for flood protection,” he said. “Our action now can prevent the devastating effects of floods that have become all too common over the past few years.
“We need to jump-start infrastructure restoration and, at the same time, take steps to invigorate our economy,” Rendell said. “My Rebuilding Pennsylvania proposal will deliver the significant investments needed to keep our residents, communities and businesses safe.”
In 2008-09, Rebuilding Pennsylvania calls for accelerating $200 million for bridge repairs, $13 million for flood-control projects, $12 million for repairs to state-owned dams, $10 million for new rail freight projects and $5 million for aviation projects. It also includes $15 million in new General Fund investments for local dam repairs, flood-plain mapping and infrastructure for business development.
The governor’s plan calls for increasing money in the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank by $13 million, bringing to $30 million the amount available for below-market-rate loans to municipalities and transit agencies for repairs and upgrades to local roads, bridges and transit facilities.
The governor’s proposal would increase the aviation program to $10 million a year. This program helps Pennsylvania’s 133 public-service airports improve runways and hangars to serve a vibrant private commercial aircraft community across the state.
The rail freight capital program would expand to $30 million from $20 million and assist more of Pennsylvania’s 67 freight railroads, the largest number of any state. These railroads operate on 6,052 miles of track, the fifth largest of any state.
Since taking office, Rendell has tripled the amount of repair funds for bridges and, within 10 years, these additional funds will reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges by 40 percent. Bridges that are considered structurally deficient are safe, but they have various elements that are deteriorating.
Rebuilding Pennsylvania provides more resources for PennDOT to meet construction and repair needs and it calls for the department to enhance the processes used to get projects from paper to places where they can help people.
“I have asked PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler to build on the progress PennDOT has made in its bridge and highway construction program over the past five years,” Rendell said.
An accelerated bridge rebuilding program will include these components:
• Maximum use of design-build contracting;
• Grouping bridge contracts by similar bridge type and by geographic area to maximize contractor competition, capability and construction efficiency;
• Jump-starting increased bridge construction contract lettings by initially emphasizing rehabilitation projects that require the least lead time;
• Initiating an expanded program of design and environmental work on longer lead time replacement projects;
• Maximizing the contract production capabilities of PennDOT’s districts through streamlined design, utility and right-of-way procedures;
• Use of smart transportation principles to ensure designs are efficient, cost-effective and fit within the community; and
• Use of 100-year design life for all replacement projects.
Rendell also directed the Department of Environmental Protection to work with PennDOT to facilitate the required reviews for bridge projects. DEP and PennDOT worked together over the past several years to remove unnecessary delays from the bridge permitting process, reducing the time involved from months to a matter of weeks.
DAM REPAIRS AND FLOOD CONTROL
DEP will also be responsible for working with those state agencies and municipalities that own the unsafe dams.
Across the commonwealth, there are 24 state-owned high-hazard dams that have been classified as unsafe by DEP’s dam safety program. Repair work to some of these dams is in the design or construction phase, or is already eligible for funding through the state’s capital budget. The cost to repair the remaining 17 dams has been estimated at $37 million.
Additionally, 21 unsafe high-hazard dams are owned by county or local governments. The Governor has called for the state matching loan/grant program to help cover 30 percent of the cost of repairing those dams.
“Dams can protect downstream communities and the environment, and they can provide recreational opportunities for anglers and boater in addition to a reliable supply of water,” Rendell said. “This initiative will allow us to preserve or breach unsafe structures to eliminate the potential for a catastrophe.”
The governor’s proposal calls for $100 million for flood-control projects over the next three years. The additional funds will allow the state to increase the number of flood-protection grants awarded to municipalities each year, boost support for stream improvement projects, and complete emergency closure work and rehabilitation projects.
“Pennsylvanians have battled a number of storms that resulted in flooding over the past few years,” said the governor. “Unfortunately, in some communities, rivers and streams were not able to handle the resulting runoff and water flow. What we were left with was hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in the form of lost homes and damaged property and infrastructure.”
Debt incurred for flood mitigation efforts will be paid by collecting a surcharge of 7 cents per $100 of homeowners’ insurance premium and putting those funds in a dedicated account for this purpose. Total flood-related debt service in 2011 is expected to be $3.3 million
Under the enhanced flood-protection program, the state will have additional resources to help communities rehabilitate existing flood-protection projects, will have more resources to repair or replace deteriorated culverts and construct new projects like waterway channels, floodwalls, levees and stream bank stabilization.