WBAL-TV in Baltimore aired a news story this week that provides a nice overview of the challenges regarding the planned improvements to I-95 through the Mid-Atlantic region and up through New England.
The 1,917-mile route is among the busiest on the country. The populations of communities along it continue to grow, and truck traffic and congestion in general will continue to increase.
Even relatively small projects on the heavily traveled route can take years to complete, and the expense can be astonishing. In Philadelphia, rebuilding an 8-mile stretch is expected to cost $2.7 billion – more than PennDOT’s entire annual construction budget.
Restoring our highway system to meet our needs today and beyond has been neither cheap nor easy, but very necessary to improve the quality of life, in Pennsylvania and across our nation. To read the WBAL story, click here.
Transportation Issue Update
- Jamie Van Buren, current president of the PA Highway Information Association, penned this op-ed article on how to adequately fund transportation without raising taxes.
- Despite ongoing litigation, the Pennsylvania Turnpike has gotten a positive response from the bond market as it considers whether to resume borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars for mass transit.
- Later this month, PennDOT will unveil plans to add more opportunities for bicyclists in Pennsylvania.
- Michigan is going to school on Pennsylvania’s Rapid Bridge Replacement Program, which will have completed 558 bridge replacements later this year.
- The City of Philadelphia will spend $200 million to repave streets over the next six years.