Pennsylvania to Shift Funding from Local Roads to Interstate Highways

"The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will shift $3.15 billion from local road projects to improvements on the interstate highways over the next nine years," reports Ed Blazina.

"For years, the state has delayed major maintenance work on the state’s interstate highway system while officials waited for an expected influx of federal funds," to explain the reason for the shift. "But now, with no federal money on the horizon and road conditions reaching the point where federal officials could cut existing federal funds because of the state of road conditions, Pennsylvania decided to shift its emphasis to the interstate system."

"The change, approved by the Federal Highway Administration in June, begins this year by taking $150 million statewide from local projects and earmarking the money for interstate work. That will increase by $50 million a year until 2028, when it reaches $3.15 billion."

The article includes a lot more details about how transportation officials are reacting to the shift, and includes several quotes from officials concerned about the state of local roads. The article also includes the history of planning and funding decisions that led to the current changes.

As for the federal policy that precipitated the change, Blaziina also offers this explanation, by way of information shared by Larry Shifflet, PennDOT’s deputy director for planning:

The Federal Highway Administration developed standards that interstate highways must meet certain standards or states could lose money from its National Highway System funds, which account for about half of $1.8 billion in state highway funds. The state is getting perilously close to not meeting those standards, Mr. Shifflet said.