Pennsylvania Receives $35 Million For Transportation/Economic Investments

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently received $35 million from the United States Department of Transportation to fund three transportation projects which will generate economic recovery. The funding comes through the U.S. DOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant Program. The $511 million TIGER Program is now in its third year, being originally conceived as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The $35 million received by Pennsylvania was the third-most of any state, behind only Illinois and California.

TIGER grants are awarded to transportation projects that have a significant national or regional impact. Projects are chosen for their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and enhance the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. U.S. DOT also gives priority to projects that are expected to create and preserve jobs quickly and stimulate increases in economic activity.

The three projects awarded in Pennsylvania are as follows:

PennDOT received $15 million to expand the Rutherford Intermodal Facility near Harrisburg, PA to an additional 125,000 lifts per year and enable the facility to keep pace with growing freight traffic and demand in the Harrisburg area. The project includes track work, expansion of parking access, and the construction of cranes to increase capacity. This facility, owned by Norfolk Southern Corporation and located along the company's Crescent Corridor, is a central point for freight from cities in 12 states, including Chicago, Memphis, and Atlanta. The project will remove highway truck traffic along several interstates, reducing carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons and saving 162 million gallons of fuel over 30 years.

The City of Philadelphia received $10 million to upgrade more than 100 existing traffic controllers along three transit corridors (Castor/Oxford Avenues, Bustleton Avenue, and Woodland Avenue) covering approximately 15.72 miles in northeast Philadelphia. These controllers will be connected to the city's existing traffic management system via fiber optic cable, allowing for a substantial upgrade in traffic flow. The controllers will also be outfitted with transit-signal prioritization technology, which holds the green lights as SEPTA buses approach intersections, allowing them to pass through and thereby maiximizing transit running times. Traffic monitoring cameras and ADA-compliant ramps will also be installed as part of the project.

The Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County received $10 million to construct a flyover ramps from the Rankin Street Bridge to provide direct access to the Carrie Furnace Site in Rankin, PA. The 168-acre land parcel is the former site of a historic blast furnace, which has undergone environmental remediation, and is currently designated as an environmental brownfield. The flyover ramps will enable redevelopment of the site as a mixed-use industrial/office park with an adjacent residential component.

For a full list of projects funded under the TIGER Program, click here

Posted in: policy,Ryan Jeroski