Pennsylvania Updates Transportation Plan

The Pennsylvania’s State Transportation Commission said it has updated the state’s 12-year plan to make $64.8 billion available for improvements to railroads, transit systems, roads, bridges and airports.

Overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the new program will become effective on Oct. 1 and anticipates the following funding availability in the first four years from federal, state and local sources:
• $11.4 billion for state highways and bridges;
• $9.4 billion for public transit;
• $321 million for multimodal projects;
• $228 million for freight rail; and
• $138 million for aviation.

The program was described by PennDOT as a multimodal tool to identify and give priority to transportation projects and the funds needed to complete them.

Under state law the program must be updated every two years.

PennDOT said public comments made during the 12-year planning process have played a key role in identifying investments in the various transportation modes.

Pennsylvania Extends Port Incentive Program

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has extended its Intermodal Cargo Growth Incentive Program through 2022.

The program seeks to encourage shippers to move cargo through Pennsylvania ports and had been slated to end last month.

The program was established in 2015 and provides up to $1 million annually to participating ocean carriers that move cargo through Pennsylvania ports.

New carriers enrolled in the program receive $25 per new container unit loaded or discharged from vessels at a Pennsylvania port. Existing participants qualify for the incentive payment by exceeding benchmarks.

Over the past five years, more than 1.8 million units of cargo has passed through Pennsylvania ports, resulting in $4.1 million in incentive funds awarded to 10 grantees.

PennDOT to Fund 26 Rail Projects

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has approved 26 freight-rail improvement projects that it said will improve freight mobility while creating or sustaining more than 390 jobs.

PennDOT said in a news release that it will work with private rail operators and rail-served businesses to construct new rail lines and assist in maintaining and improving the state’s 5,600 miles of freight lines operated by 65 railroads.

Following are some of the funding recipients, their projects and state share of funding:

• CSX, $14.4 million, to lower tracks under nine overhead obstructions to permit routing of double-stack container and multilevel auto rack traffic to and from Port of Philadelphia;

• R. J. Corman, $3 million, to replace 25 linear miles of rail and 4,800 ties and to construct a 4,000-foot siding and two turnouts on its Cherry Tree Subdivision to support export metallurgical coal;

• SEKISUI SPI, $2.7 million, to construct two spur tracks and install unloading equipment at its manufacturing plant;

• Allegheny Valley, $2.5 million, to repair a bridge located on a route used by three railroads;

• Arcelor Mittal Plate, $2.2 million, to rehabilitate 2 miles of track, turnouts, and private crossings serving its rolling mill and electric melt shop sites;

• Buffalo & Pittsburgh, $1.9 million, to install new bridge timbers, walkways and handrails, as well as super-elevation correction involving three bridges;

• Strasburg Rail Road, $1.7 million, to construct less than 1 mile of track by extending interchange track and constructing new bulk, ladder, and lead tracks to more than double current yard capacity;

• Wheeling and Lake Erie, $1.1 million, to repair structural and drainage issues in State Tunnel to bring it into a state of good repair in Washington County;

• Union Tank Car, $1 million, to rehabilitate the transfer table pit retaining walls;

• North Shore, $813,834 to construct 1,350 ft. of track and install three turnouts to develop a multipurpose transload site;

• Pittsburgh Intermodal Terminals, $700,000, to rehabilitate approximately 1 mile of track in critical operations areas, including replacement of ties and switch timbers, new ballast and surfacing;

• Freeport Terminals, $699,999, to construct and rehabilitate less than .5 mile of track and install new transloading equipment to expand capacity at its Allegheny River barge/rail/truck transload site;

• United States Steel, $689,500, to complete various track upgrades to accommodate increased rail volume from USS’s new hot rolling mill in Braddock;

• Standard Steel LLC, $529,890, to replace a 50-foot scale to accommodate 60-foot rail cars and replace two No. 6 turnouts and 900 feet of track.

Gramian Named New PennDOT Chief

Yassmin Gramian has been nominated to become secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

She is currently PennDOT’s executive deputy secretary and will assume the role of acting secretary on Dec. 6.

Gramian will replace Leslie Richards, who is leaving PennDOT to become general manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in January.

In addition to her tenure at at PennDOT, Gramian has extensive experience in the private sector overseeing transportation and infrastructure projects.

Those included Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard multimodal corridor program, SEPTA’s subway concourse improvement project, Amtrak’s Keystone corridor infrastructure rehabilitation and reconstruction and the Port Authority Transit Corp.’s Ben Franklin Bridge track rehabilitation.

PennDOT Seeking Private Sector Proposals

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is accepting unsolicited proposals for transportation projects from the private sector through Dec. 31.

The proposals must be submitted to PennDOT’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships and offer “innovative ways” to deliver projects across transportation modes including rail, bridges and ports.

Proposals also may include more efficient models to manage existing transportation services and programs.

Private sector entities also may submit applications for non-PennDOT-owned assets directly to the P3 board now through Dec. 31.

Instructions for submitting a project and information on the unsolicited proposal review process are available on the state’s P3 website.

Hearing Set on Closing Bridge in Erie over CSX

A hearing has been set for Oct. 25 in Erie, Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on a proposal to remove the McBride Viaduct over the CSX Erie West Subdivision tracks between East 12^th and East 19^th streets.

The bridge was built in 1938 and has been deemed to be structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.

PennDOT said it plans to remove the 1,170-foot bridge and all piers, steps and ramps. Fencing would be installed to prohibit pedestrians from crossing the tracks.

PennDOT Takes New Planning Approach

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said last week that it is adopting a new approach to transportation project planning and development that will require more collaboration with local and planning stakeholders before project plans are developed

Known as PennDOT Connects, the approach will require discussion of such matters as safety; bicycle and pedestrian accommodations; transit access; stormwater management; utilities; local and regional plans and studies; and freight-generating land uses.

In a news release, PennDOT said that collaboration will occur for projects without previously defined project phases, those that haven’t started preliminary engineering or started preliminary engineering after July 1, 2016.

That equates to about 280 projects worth $2 billion, state officials said.

PennDot Accepting Multimodal Grant Bids

Applications are being accepted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for its multimodal transportation fund.

PennDOT will evaluate and select applicants based on such criteria as safety benefits, regional economic conditions, technical and financial feasibility, job creation, energy efficiency, and operational sustainability.

“The fund allows us to assist communities with needed transportation improvements that otherwise may not move forward,” said PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards. “This process represents an opportunity for worthwhile local projects to secure the support needed to come to fruition.”

The department has $40 million in grants available for fiscal years 2017 and 2018. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 16.

Grant winners will begin receiving the funding in July 2017.

Pa. Updates 12-Year Transportation Plan

A 12-year transportation program adopted by the State Transportation Commission of Pennsylvania calls for spending nearly $62 billion to make improvements to roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and railroads.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the spending in the plan is slightly less than the $63.3 billion outlined in the plan’s previous update in 2014.

“Through ongoing efficiencies at PennDOT, we continue to stretch taxpayers’ dollars to reach as many transportation needs as possible,” said PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards. “This update reflects the progress we are making, chipping away at our large backlog of pavement and bridge needs while adding some capacity expansion to address long-standing desires for better mobility.”

The plan calls for spending $8.6 billion for public transit, $305 million for multimodal and $229 million for freight-rail projects.

Among the projects identified by the plan is replacement of the Interstate 84 bridges over the Lackawanna County Railroad and Roaring Brook in Lackawanna County, which will cost $143 million.

Under Pennsylvania law, the 12-year program must be updated every two years and no capital project can advanced unless it is part of the plan.

PennDOT Accepting Rail Grant Applications

Applications are being accepted for the 2016 Rail Transportation Assistance Program and the 2016 Rail Freight Assistance Program of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

PennDOT said in a news release that during the last grant period, it awarded $36 million for 15 projects through RTAP and 16 projects through RFAP.

RTAP is a capital budget grant program funded with bonds and RFAP is underwritten through the new Multimodal Fund, created by Pennsylvania’s Act 89.

Applications are due Aug. 30. Eligible organizations that wish to apply for either program can find further information on the PennDOT website.