For months, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been saying that $5.6 billion in additional federal funds through the Biden administration’s stimulus program won’t come close to addressing all of the state’s road and bridge needs.
Now, a national online research organization agrees, at least on money for needed bridge work.
InMyArea Research released a report last week that claims the $26.2 billion in stimulus funds for bridges nationwide over the next five years falls an estimated $7.3 billion short of the amount needed just to upgrade bridges rated in poor condition. Pennsylvania’s allocation of $1.63 billion for bridges is about $888 million below what it needs, the report said.
It called the federal effort “a great start.”
“The [stimulus package] throws a lot of money at roadway repairs and sets aside a hefty sum for bridges specifically,” the report said. “For some states, it’s more than enough to tackle their broken bridges. For others, it’s woefully insufficient.”
Pennsylvania, which the American Road & Transportation Builders Association said in February had the second most bridges in poor condition in the country, falls in the latter category. That’s because the agency estimated Pennsylvania had 3,198 bridges in poor condition, second only to Iowa, which had about 1,300 more.
Across the country, the ARTBA study said there were 43,578 bridges in poor condition.
The IMA report found Pennsylvania ranked fifth nationally with 15% of its bridges in poor condition. The state’s financial shortfall of $888 million ranked second only to New York, which needs $1.3 billion more to address its poor bridges.
Some states — Utah, $199 million; Nevada, $188 million; North Dakota, $158 million; Vermont, $140 million; and Delaware, $129 million — will receive more money than they need to upgrade poor bridges.
The IMA report said some states will receive the extra money because it is handed out under the same formula the federal Department of Transportation uses to allocate annual funds. That formula is based on a number of factors, including vehicle miles traveled per year, population, investment need and the total area of the state.
“Although it tries to allocate funds objectively and consistently, the formula isn’t perfect,” the report said. “Much of the disparity between federal funding and real need can be traced back to it. States like Alaska and Arizona won big thanks to their large land area, despite not having much need for repair funds.”
Those states that won’t receive as much money as they need will have to make tough choices, according to the report.
“Though some states ended up with more than they need, the bridge repair allocation in the [stimulus package] isn’t enough to fix the country’s aging bridges,” the report said. “States will have to prioritize the bridges with the most urgent needs and come up with the money to pay for the rest.”
But bridges in poor condition aren’t the only ones that need to be improved, so IMA’s estimated financial shortfall for appropriate bridge care actually could be substantially higher, both nationally and in Pennsylvania. That’s because the report didn’t include another 224,000 bridges that the builder’s association said aren’t rated in poor condition but need to be replaced or substantially upgraded.
In this area for example, PennDOT has been pushing for funds to improve structures such as the Fort Duquesne, Frazier Street, West End and McKees Rocks bridges. Those bridges aren’t rated in poor condition, but District Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni believes they are key to the regional economy, so it is important to maintain them properly so they never reach that point.
Across the state, PennDOT has said that it spends about $6.9 billion a year on roads and bridges when it should be spending $15 billion a year — an annual shortfall of $7.1 billion. That means the $5.6 billion in additional federal funds over five years will help, but it won’t come anywhere near addressing all of the state’s transportation needs.
InMyArea.com usually conducts consumer research on items such as internet service and utility rates but it recently has done studies on solar energy, the use of electric vehicles and the cost of land in various states, Ryan McGonagill, director of industry research, said in a statement.
“We focus on helping people make educated decisions on where they live and where they might want to move,” he said.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.
First Published: September 5, 2022, 8:38 p.m.
Updated: September 6, 2022, 10:20 a.m.
