$2 billion now available for PA's highways, roads, and bridges

PennDot will spend $2 billion on road maintenance and highway and bridge projects in the next decade, Pennsylvania's governor announced Tuesday.

The money will help modernize Pennsylvania's aging infrastructure, Governor Wolf said in a news release Tuesday. Half of the state's 40,000 miles of interstates are out of cycle for their 40-year reconstructions, and of the 2,691 bridges maintained by PennDot, almost 40 percent have exceeded their 50-year design life. The funds will also cover some of the costs of resurfacing about 18,000 miles of state owned roads, 24 percent of which haven't been upgraded in more than 20 years.

Of the $2 billion available for the Road Maintenance and Preservation program, $500 million will be allocated to interstate preservation and reconstruction. Another $600 million will be available for rehab and reconstruction projects to be used at PennDot's discretion.

The money became available because of limits placed by the state legislature on the amount of Motor License Fund money that can go to the Pennsylvania State Police from 2018 to 2028.

Further details on the funding are available at www.penndot.gov on the "Act 89 Transportation Plan" page.