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| July 29th, 2005 |
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SPECTER & SANTORUM ANNOUNCE MILLIONS IN FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
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Washington, D.C. - Senator Arlen Specter, the Senior Senator from Pennsylvania, and Senator Rick Santorum, Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, announced today Congress has approved the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA LU). SAFETEA LU is a transportation funding bill which reauthorizes federal funding for surface transportation programs for five fiscal years, through fiscal year 2009.
SAFETEA LU also provides a federal funding formula on which states receive a return on money paid in federal gasoline taxes. Under the bill’s formula, Pennsylvania will remain a donee state, receiving a higher rate of return than it contributes. The previous version of the bill, considered in the 108th Congress, made Pennsylvania a donor state with a rate of return of $.97. The SAFETEA LU bill passed today ensures Pennsylvania will never receive less than $1.13 for every dollar contributed. The Senate portion of the bill also contains nearly $230 million in federal funding for transportation projects in the Commonwealth.
Pennsylvania has the fourth largest highway system among the 50 states, with 25,000 bridges and 40,500 miles of state highway, totaling more highway miles than New York and New England combined. Additionally, Pennsylvania’s highways are the prime routes for delivering goods imported from ports across the Mid-Atlantic region.
“Infrastructure, including highway construction, mass transit, and bridge repairs are indispensable for economic growth and development,” said Senator Arlen Specter. “Pennsylvania truly is the Keystone State when it comes to moving goods from East-to-West and North-to-South in our Country. The funding contained in this bill will help the Commonwealth address its growing infrastructure needs as we enter the 21st Century.”
“I am pleased that Congress has approved funding to expand and improve our roadways and mass transit infrastructure in communities in and around Allentown and Reading,” Senator Santorum said. “It is important that Pennsylvania continuously maintain and modernize transportation throughout the Commonwealth in order to ensure the safe travel of its citizens, create more efficient means of transportation, and sustain a robust economy.”
Listed below are projects in the Allentown and Reading region which will receive funding:
• $7 million for Route 412 in Bethlehem to widen the corridor from I-78 from two to four lanes and to make traffic signal and intersection improvements;
• $2.5 million for Route 309 and Old Packhouse Road in Lehigh County to ensure safety and capacity improvements as well as a widening of the road between KidsPeace Children’s Hospital and Route 309;
• $2 million for the Allentown Intermodal Transportation Center. This center will include an off-street transfer center for transit passengers and a multi-story parking garage.
• $2 million for the American Parkway Bridge Project to construct a 1.6 mile four-lane road from Front Street to Airport Road in Allentown and a new bridge across the Lehigh River;
• $2 million for the Lehigh Carbon Community College Transit First Responder Training Facility. This facility will provide unified training, particularly in the area of coordination of public transportation route planning in the case of mass disaster, cross-training for emergency response to incidents involving mass transit, as well as management of the movement of large numbers of the population;
• $1 million for New Morgan Borough, Berks County for widening and improvements to State Route 10 through smart growth technologies;
• $1 million for Route 33 and Freemansburg Avenue Road in Northampton County to construct several multi-lane, high volume driveways, lane additions, and ramp improvements;
• $400,000 for the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Project for the research, development and deliverance of hydrogen fuel celled vehicles by the Da Vinci Center in Allentown.
• $280,000 for the restoration of Route 222 in Maxatawny and Richmond Townships, Berks County.
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