HARRISBURG — The State Transportation Commission has adopted a new 12-Year Transportation Program that makes $88 billion available for improvements to roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and railroads, state transportation officials said.
This marks a 5 percent increase from the current plan, they noted.
The plan, PennDOT’s official mid-range planning tool, lists statewide planned projects across all modes of transportation and assigns funding, while also highlighting some of PennDOT’s initiatives and accomplishments over the past two years. These range from the modernization of train stations to implementing strategies and technologies to enhance safety and efficiency.
“Transportation planning is a lengthy and collaborative process. By the time a new project starts in your neighborhood, it’s already several years old,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “PennDOT is always seeking ways to improve transportation infrastructure, and we look forward to putting the next 12 years of improvements into motion for travelers around the state.”
The newly adopted program, which takes effect Oct. 1, anticipates the following funding availability in the first four years from federal, state and local sources:
- $16.4 billion for state highway and bridge projects
- $12.5 billion for public transit
- $352 million for multimodal projects
- $236 million for rail freight
- $175 million for aviation
Four rural planning organizations, 19 metropolitan planning organizations and one independent county partnered with PennDOT to review and develop the update. Now the plan has been submitted to the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration for review. The 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 planning process played a key role in identifying investments in the various transportation modes, state officials noted.
The State Transportation Commission is chaired by Carroll 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 new plan, people may visit https://talkpatransportation.com/how-it-works/typ.
Other questions or concerns may be directed to PennDOT’s Bureau of Equal Opportunity at [email protected] or calling 717-787-5891; TTY (711).
