Action Clears Way for Latest Round of Transportation Improvements across Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, PA – The State Transportation Commission (STC) today updated the 12-Year Program. The new plan anticipates $64.8 billion being available over the next 12 years for improvements to roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and railroads.

The 12-Year Program, or TYP, is a multimodal, fiscally-constrained planning tool used to identify and prioritize Pennsylvania’s transportation projects and the funds needed to complete them. State law requires the STC to review and update the 12-Year Program every two years. No capital project can move forward unless it is included in the 12-Year Program.

The newly adopted program, which takes effect October 1, anticipates the following funding availability in the first four years of the TYP from federal, state and local sources:

• $11.4 billion for state highway and bridge projects;
• $9.4 billion for public transit;
• $321 million for multimodal projects;
• $228 million for rail freight; and
• $138 million for aviation.

“Investments in transportation are critical for keeping our communities connected to the global economy,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “While additional investment in our large transportation network is certainly needed, PennDOT takes pride in being a responsible steward of federal, state and local dollars to help improve infrastructure across all modes.”

The TYP also highlights some of PennDOT’s major accomplishments over the past two years, such as becoming REAL ID-compliant, as well as impacts to transportation in Pennsylvania because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four Rural Planning Organizations, 19 Metropolitan Planning Organizations and one independent county partnered with PennDOT in the review and development of the update. Now that the STC has approved the update, it has been submitted to the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration for review and approval. The Federal Highway Administration coordinates with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review the plan’s conformity with air quality requirements.

Public input early in the 12-Year planning process played a key role in identifying investments in the various transportation modes.

The State Transportation Commission is chaired by the Secretary of PennDOT and consists of 10 appointed citizens as well as the majority and minority chairs of the state House and Senate Transportation committees.

For more information about the TYP, visit www.TalkPATransportation.com.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano 

(Industry, Pa.) A fatal accident  on Route 68 in Industry Tuesday night claimed the life of an Industry resident.  Beaver County Coroner David J. Gabauer reported Thursday night that Kayla McCullough who was 27 died as a result of blunt force trauma to the abdomen and pelvis. The cause has been ruled accidental. The accident occurred around 10 p.m..

Andrea Sears, Keystone State News Connnection

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A new report shows Pennsylvania needs to do much more to meet its goal under the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint.

Three states are responsible for about 90% of the pollution damaging the bay. The report, from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says Virginia and Maryland have plans in place that should meet their pollution-reduction goals – but Pennsylvania’s plan falls far short, and the state hasn’t budgeted the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to implement it.

William Baker, foundation president, said by approving that plan, the federal Environmental Protection Agency isn’t holding the state accountable.

“The U.S. EPA has failed to do its job during this,” said Baker, “the final and most important phase of the cleanup effort.”

The most recent report from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection found almost 25,500 miles of impaired waterways in the state, a 25% increase from 2016.

Harry Campbell, director of the Pennsylvania Science Policy and Advocacy with the foundation, said the General Assembly has not invested enough in conservation to keep up with the state’s commitment to reduce water pollution from farms, wastewater and stormwater runoff.

“As a result, the state is significantly behind in achieving its load reductions from the agricultural sector,” said Campbell, “and our urban and suburban sectors as well.”

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is helping coordinate efforts to plant 95,000 acres of streamside forested buffers in the state to keep pollution from reaching rivers and streams.

Baker called for federal funds, matched by the state, to assist Pennsylvania farmers in reducing agricultural pollution. He added the other watershed states have roles to play, as well.

“When the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council holds its annual meeting next week,” said Baker, “its members can address Pennsylvania’s shortfall and commit to their own plan, as a partnership, to get the Commonwealth back on track.”

District Attorney announce 23 prison corruption indictments
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania district attorney announced charges against more than 20 people Thursday after a months-long grand jury investigation into the smuggling of contraband, drugs and other alleged corruption at a county prison outside of Pittsburgh. The indictments stem from a grand jury investigation that began last fall and originally focused on illegal drugs such as K2, Suboxone and Xanax being smuggled into the Fayette County prison. The investigation branched out to include other allegations of oppression and corruption both inside and outside prison walls and resulted in 30 cases against 23 people including a former deputy warden.

Pennsylvania asks court to extend mail-in voting deadlines
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is asking the state Supreme Court to extend deadlines for mail-in ballots to be received in the November election when Pennsylvania will be a premier presidential battleground. The filing, submitted late Thursday, cited a letter dated July 29 by the general counsel of the U.S. Postal Service, Thomas Marshall. In it, Marshall warns that Pennsylvania’s election-day deadline for mail-in ballots is “incongruous” with the postal service’s delivery standards. As a result, Wolf’s administration is asking the state Supreme Court to order that ballots postmarked by election day be counted if they are valid and received during the three days following the election.

Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide mask mandate, citing health experts’ predictions that it could save 40,000 lives over the next three months. Biden and vice presidential running mate Sen. Kamala Harris spoke briefly Thursday after being briefed by public health and economic experts on the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has caused the deaths of more than 166,000 Americans and plunged the global economy into the worst economic recession since World War II.

Trump opposes postal money that would help vote-by-mail
By DEB RIECHMANN and ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, acknowledging that his position would starve the agency of money Democrats say it needs to process an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican president said Thursday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” that among the sticking points over a new virus relief package were Democrats’ demand for billions of dollars to assist states in protecting the election and to help postal workers process mail-in ballots. The campaign of Trump’s Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, jumped on Trump’s comments, likening the president’s actions to sabotage.