U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be in Pittsburgh on Friday.

He will join local, federal and state leaders, including U.S. Sen John Fetterman, Congressman Chris Deluzio and Congresswoman Summer Lee to celebrate the more than $ 142 million headed to Pittsburgh.

The funding is through the INFRA and Mega grant program, which was funded by President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law that he announced Thursday in Wisconsin.

The money will go toward rehabbing 10 bridges, and installing a new flood wall downtown to fix flooding problems in the area known as “the bathtub” and it will include new traffic mitigation measures.

View the full article at wtae.com

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be in Pittsburgh Friday to celebrate funding for $142.3 million in projects along the Parkway East and the eastern suburbs and to meet with students at Carnegie Mellon University.

Buttigieg is part of the Biden administration’s promotion of $4.9 billion in grants for major road and bridge projects formally announced Thursday. Biden was scheduled to announce the 37 projects at a news conference along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, where $1 billion will be used to replace the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin.

Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and U.S. Reps. Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio announced the local projects last month.

In a briefing for reporters Wednesday, Buttigieg said the competitive grants were earmarked for larger projects with regional and national importance. Overall, the agency received more than $300 million applications for $50 billion and awards were given to projects that provided multiple benefits such as improving infrastructure, reducing pollution, creating jobs and benefiting economically challenged areas.

“You can absolutely see the level of demand,” Buttigieg said.

The projects in this area include:

• New sidewalks in Wilkins and Monroeville to provide easier access to transit.
• Eliminating the chronic flooding problem on the Parkway East in Downtown Pittsburgh, the area beside the Monongahela Wharf known as “the bathtub.”
• Installing traffic control measures to reduce speed and regulate the number of vehicles on the Parkway East between Monroeville and the Squirrel Hill Tunnel to reduce congestion and accidents.
• Creating bus lanes along the shoulders of the inbound Parkway East for Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses and adding a connection to the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway at Edgewood.
• Paving parts of the busway stabilizing hillsides to reduce landslides along it.

View the full article at unionprogress.com

In different rooms with different voices, peoples across Pennsylvania have been imagining what it would take to decarbonize their economies.

Some of these conversations began before the U.S. Congress enacted its landmark infrastructure bill in 2021, or the energy and climate powerhouse, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Others started afterward, or picked up steam as it became clear that a firehose of funding for greenhouse gas emission reduction schemes would be unleashed in a short period of time. Short, because of the urgency of climate change and the realities of a political system where energy and environmental policy can do a 180 every few years.

Over time, some of those discussions have gotten bigger, pulling in more companies, academics, industrial giants, local government officials and labor unions.

When funding became available for hydrogen hubs, groups coalesced to pursue it, drawing on the foundation of established relationships and already brainstormed ideas.

The same is happening now to pursue a different pot of money — $4.3 billion in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. The money will be administered by state and local government agencies who must first come up with a plan for how to get the most greenhouse gas emission reductions, or the biggest bang for their buck. Applications are due in the next few months.

“We have all these people that have been talking in different rooms for a while,” said DJ Ryan, director of Strategic Initiatives and Policy at the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

Earlier this month, the agency packed about 100 of them into the same room in the Strip District to talk specifics on the climate pollution reduction grant program.

The SPC might apply for it, Mr. Ryan said, or it might be another southwestern Pennsylvania agency. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection surely will, asking for the full $500 million, the cap available to a single applicant.

Both organizations are soliciting public feedback — the DEP’s request for information runs though Jan. 29 — and want to hear from organizations with shovel-ready decarbonization projects.

The state has decided to focus its program on industrial decarbonization, because, according to Pennsylvania’s latest greenhouse gas emissions inventory (with data from 2020), the industrial sector is the largest emitter, accounting for about 30% of the carbon footprint. And it’s widely considered the most difficult to decarbonize.

For residential, commercial and transportation technologies, the overarching logic has been to try and electrify everything possible — that way a cleaner electric grid can become the blanket decarbonization strategy for everything connected to it.

That’s not always available for industrial applications.

Direct burning of fossil fuels in industrial processes — this does not include the electricity used by plants — is the biggest chunk of the industrial GHG emissions pie, followed by oil and gas systems, industrial processes and coal mining.

Pennsylvania, which is fourth among the nation in its greenhouse gas emissions, has a goal of lowering that footprint by 26% by 2025 and by 80% by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.

The state is ahead of schedule. It pretty much met its 2025 goal in 2020, the latest year for which data is available, but the DEP cautioned that was only because of the drop in economic activity during the pandemic shutdowns and “may not be durable.” It expects 2021 data to show an increase.

Moreover, while every other sector of the state’s economy has seen a drop in emissions over the past 15 years — electricity production, for example, plummeted by 44% as natural gas overtook coal in the mix — industrial emissions have continued to rise.

Louie Krak, Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, has been showing up in a lot of the rooms where decarbonization talk happens. Recently, he’s been spreading the word about the grant opportunity, which he said is a “huge initiative for the governor’s office.”

There’s likely to be a continuum of projects that make up the state’s industrial decarbonization program, he said.

“The first line of defense is looking at energy efficiency solutions — incredibly shovel ready and economical to implement,” he said. “But as you start moving down the levers to electrification or fuel switching, a key to success in designing a statewide program is having different options that can be accomplished on different timescales.”

Nothing is set in stone yet, but the DEP is eyeing a program that grants $100 million for each million metric ton of CO2e eliminated, with a minimum reduction of 20,000 metric tons (which would fetch $2 million).

So what kinds of projects might qualify?

The DEP provides a list. It includes electric heat pumps, combined heat and power systems, thermal storage technologies, clean hydrogen, biomass or waste heat recovery, energy efficiency waste reduction methods, electrification, renewable energy and low-emission fuels.

It also allows equipment used to capture carbon emissions from industrial processes and to move and store it underground, or transform that carbon into fuel, chemicals, solid products and other materials.

The agency would like to list specific projects in its application to the EPA, which is due April 1. The federal agency is likely to announce winners in the summer.

For the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission — or whatever other local agency decides to apply — the focus is unlikely to overlap with the DEP’s industrial mindset.

“We’ve been in talks with people who want to do things that are a little more common — installing EV chargers, putting solar panels on roofs; and people developing alternative fuels — not only for vehicles but for airplanes,” Mr. Ryan said.

The gamut runs from big ideas to shovel ready projects. “It’s everything from retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient to moving freight from trucks to the river, for example,” Mr. Ryan said.

Many were in the works; others wouldn’t be deployed without federal funding, he said.

“The ideas have been out there for years and we finally have the opportunity to bring them to fruition,” he said. “We’re going to try to get as much as possible for this region.”

Those interested in submitting comments to the DEP should email ra.ep.cprg@pa.gov. To contact the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, email comments@spcregion.org.

View the full article at post-gazette.com.

Repairs are on the way for the Fort Duquesne, West End and McKees Rocks bridges in Allegheny County, thanks to $132 million in new investments the Shapiro-Davis administration announced Thursday, Jan. 18, by Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation (PennDOT) Mike Carroll at a news conference in Pittsburgh.

“Pittsburgh’s bridges carry thousands of Pennsylvanians and millions of dollars’ worth of goods every single day – they’re critical to western Pennsylvania and our economic success. My administration has a GSD attitude – we’re getting stuff done for the people of Pennsylvania – and with the help of state funding, we were able to repair 74 bridges and 7,011 miles of roads across the commonwealth last year,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro. “My administration is continuing to build on that progress by investing $132 million in additional federal and state funding to repair vital bridges across Allegheny County. Pennsylvania’s progress has often been tied to our ability to complete major projects that spur economic growth and create real opportunity – and with these new investments, my administration will continue to safely, quickly and skillfully strengthen Allegheny County’s infrastructure.”

“Pittsburgh is the City of Bridges – they knit together our neighborhoods, as local residents go to and from school, work, shopping and civic events,” said Davis. “Gov. Shapiro and I understand how important bridges are for our communities and our region’s economic vitality, and that’s why our administration is investing $132 million in additional funding to repair and restore these three iconic spans. In addition, more infrastructure spending equals more jobs – good-paying, family-sustaining jobs. We’re proud to stand with our union brothers and sisters, who are working hard to rebuild Pennsylvania.”

The increased federal funds from the infrastructure law mean PennDOT has more “spike” funding that can be allocated at the secretary’s discretion, as part of the state’s 12-year transportation program.

Spike funding has traditionally gone toward high-cost projects, like the bridge upgrades announced Thursday. The McKees Rocks Bridge will receive $25 million and the Fort Duquesne Bridge will receive $60 million in spike funding from the draft 12-year program update for 2025. The West End Bridge had received spike funding through the current 12-year program, and it will receive an additional $47 million from the 2025 update. Because these bridges provide critical links to the city of Pittsburgh and carry thousands of vehicles every day, PennDOT will ensure that traffic will remain flowing during construction.

“There are significant needs across our transportation network, and certainly in southwest Pennsylvania,” said Carroll. “Thanks to the leadership at the federal level that got us the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, more federal funds are available for our program, and thanks to the smart planning by the Shapiro administration and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, we’re making the most of our federal and state dollars, and investing funds in meaningful projects that will benefit Pennsylvania communities.”

In addition to historic investments in passenger rail, electric vehicle charging stations and airports, the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also provides significant funding increases to state transportation departments for road and bridge improvements.

“The infrastructure law is making Pittsburgh’s many bridges safer for the thousands of residents, commuters and travelers who rely on them every day,” said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA). “The McKees Rocks, West End and Fort Duquesne bridges are vital to keeping the city of Pittsburgh moving. When we improve the condition of our bridges, we strengthen the region’s economy and make the City of Bridges easier to navigate.”

“The hardworking families of Allegheny County rely on these bridges to connect them to work, education, resources and friends. I am delighted that these long-needed repairs are underway, ensuring that members of our community can travel around our beautiful city safely and easily,” said state Sen. Jay Costa (D-43). “I’m grateful to the Shapiro administration and all the folks who have delivered this crucial funding. I am especially grateful for the union workers who will be conducting these repairs, and I look forward to celebrating the fruits of their labor.”

“Our bridges are essential to sustaining both our economic and social well-being in Allegheny County. This funding is key to enabling our region’s infrastructure for both current and future generations,” said state Rep. Aerion Abney (D-19). “It exemplifies the effective actions taken by this administration to get things done – and we are grateful for their commitment to the prosperity of our region.”

In addition to the Allegheny County bridge projects, the Wildwood intersection of state Route 8 will receive $4.5 million in new spike funding. Projects in Lancaster and Adams counties are also in line for new spike funding commitments.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the region’s transportation planning organization, will receive nearly $400 million total in new spike funding, an increase of more than $90 million over the previous 12-year program.

“On behalf of the thousands of people who cross some of the most heavily travelled bridges in our region, thank you Gov. Shapiro, Lt. Gov. Davis and Secretary Carroll for this major investment,” said Rich Fitzgerald, executive director, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. “Investing in our critical infrastructure means drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists in our region will have access to safer and more efficient modes of transportation.”

“Our bridges are our gateway, they’re our identity as a region and organized labor takes this deep in its soul,” said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council. “We must never forget that when we invest in infrastructure, we’re investing in people.”

View the full article at latrobebulletinnews.com.

State and county leaders on Thursday announced $132 million in funds to repair three major bridges in the Pittsburgh region: Fort Duquesne, West End, and McKees Rocks.

The three steel structures span either the Allegheny or Ohio rivers, and have a combined age of nearly 240 years.

The new funds were announced in a press conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Among those in attendance were Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, and former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald in his new role as executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

Mr. Carroll told reporters after the press conference that the $132 million from PennDOT would help supplement other federal and state funds already allocated to completing all three bridge repair projects. Of the funds, $25 million would be used for McKees Rocks, $60 million for Fort Duquesne and $47 million for the West End Bridge, he said.

The money would help fully fund the estimated total costs of all three projects, he said, with $90 million in total for McKees Rocks, $162 million for Fort Duquesne and $120 million for West End. Mr. Carroll did not provide an exact timeline for each project, other than saying it would take years for all three to be completed.

Rehab work planned on the bridges includes deck reconstruction, bearing replacement, and other critical needs Mr. Carroll said.

He said the Fort Duquesne Bridge work is the most substantial because it involves 19 total structures, counting both decks of the bridge and all the ramps that lead onto it from the North Shore and Downtown.

“It really is more than just a cosmetic cleaning of the bridge. It’s much more substantial that that,” Mr. Carroll said.

Jason Zang, district executive for PennDOT District 11 — which covers Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties — told reporters that the easiest project to complete would likely be the McKees Rocks Bridge, due to the least complicated scope of work.

Officials said the funding announced Thursday is critically important to valuable infrastructure that connects people to jobs, school, social activities, and just getting people where they need to be throughout the region. Mr. Fitzgerald said that while the bridges are in decent shape, not taking any action would lead to weight limiting and other restrictions in future years that would hurt the economy.

The condition of bridges has been center-stage in recent years, since the Fern Hollow Bridge in the East End suddenly collapsed roughly two years ago. Since then, that bridge has been rebuilt, and a rehabilitation project of the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge in Oakland is slated to start this spring. The Roberto Clemente Bridge reopened on New Year’s Eve in 2023, after rehabilitation work began in February 2022.

According to state officials, the McKees Rocks Bridge’s last major rehabilitation project was in 1985, with minor repair projects in 2010 and 2022. Fort Duquesne was last rehabbed in 2009, and West End saw a major repair project in 1991.

Of the three bridges, McKees Rocks is the oldest, opening in 1931. It connects McKees Rocks to Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood, and is the longest bridge in Allegheny County. Including the longest elevated ramp, it is nearly 7,300 feet long.

Pittsburgh engineer George Richardson modeled the bridge on New York’s Hell Gate Bridge, according to a Post-Gazette report on the history of the region’s bridges. Its engineer, Gustav Lindenthal, also did Pittsburgh’s Smithfield Street Bridge.

The West End Bridge, connecting the city’s West End and North Side, first served motorists and pedestrians in 1932. It was the longest tiered-arch bridge in the country when it was completed, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Pittsburgh voters approved a $43.7 million bond issue in 1928 that helped pay for multiple infrastructure projects, including the West End and McKees Rocks bridges. E.V. Babcock, a former Pittsburgh mayor and Allegheny County commissioner, said after the result that the voters’ decision “puts Allegheny County into a position to keep up the race for supremacy among the great centers of population in the United States,” The Pittsburgh Press reported.

Of the three structures, Fort Duquesne is the newest, opening in 1969. The double-decker span connects from Point State Park to the city’s North Shore and other North Side neighborhoods, and is roughly 430 feet long, not including the length of the ramps that approach it from either side.

The main span was completed in 1963, but there were significant delays in acquiring the right-of-way for the approach ramps on the northern side — locals dubbed it “The Bridge to Nowhere” and The Pittsburgh Press reported that it was known then as “America’s most expensive fishing pier.”

It replaced the Manchester Bridge, which was demolished in 1970.

Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council, said it’s important to remember the human aspect of the bridge repair projects — over 150,000 people cross all three spans every day. And a few thousand people in the trades will help repair them, he said.

“We are the City of Bridges, but our bridges are our gateway,” Mr. Kelly said. “They’re our identity as a region.”

View the full article at post-gazette.com.

Millions of dollars in federal funds will go to help repair and upgrade three major Pittsburgh bridges, federal and state officials announced Thursday.

A total of $132 million will help repair steel components, joints and bearings on the McKees Rocks, West End and Fort Duquesne bridges, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, said. The work will enhance the spans’ structural integrity and longevity, and provide better driving conditions for motorists.

“The infrastructure law is making Pittsburgh’s many bridges safer for the thousands of residents, commuters and travelers who rely on them every day,” Casey said. “When we improve the condition of our bridges, we strengthen the region’s economy and make the City of Bridges easier to navigate.”

State lawmakers also lauded the new funding.

“Pittsburgh is the City of Bridges — they knit together our neighborhoods, as local residents go to and from school, work, shopping and civic events,” Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said Thursday during a press event in Pittsburgh. “More infrastructure spending equals more jobs — good-paying, family-sustaining jobs. We’re proud to stand with our union brothers and sisters, who are working hard to rebuild Pennsylvania.”

“My administration has a GSD attitude — we’re getting stuff done for the people of Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro added.

Structural issues with dozens of bridges led Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey to commission a report in 2022 calling for increased focus on the problem. Gainey unveiled his plans for a new Comprehensive Bridge Asset Management Program in the wake of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in the city’s Frick Park in January 2022.

Since President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law in November 2021, officials have allocated $13.8 billion for more than 300 projects in Pennsylvania, including more than $8 billion for roads and bridges, and more than $1 billion for high-speed internet.

The law, which Casey voted to support in 2021, directly funds work on the McKees Rocks and Fort Duquesne bridges projects.

The McKees Rocks Bridge is set to receive $25 million, the West End Bridge will receive $47 million, and the Fort Duquesne Bridge will get $60 million.

In addition to those projects, the Wildwood intersection on Route 8 in Hampton will receive $4.5 million, state officials said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will make what Casey called “critical repairs” to the bridges. The $132 million in federal funds also will enable PennDOT to reallocate existing funding to additional bridges in Pittsburgh and across the state, according to Casey’s office.

State funding has helped to repair 74 bridges and 7,011 miles of roads in Pennsylvania, Shapiro said.

View the full article at triblive.com.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is directing $132 million to help repair three key local bridges, officials announced Thursday. But don’t expect the resulting work to disrupt your commute any time soon.

The money is a mix of state and federal funds, including funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It’s meant to help offset the impact of high-cost projects.

“These projects are costly, but they’re important for the entire region here in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and we can’t put off these upgrades for too much longer,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis at a Thursday-morning press conference.

Nearly half the money, $60 million, will be added to state and federal dollars already allocated to renovations of the Fort Duquesne Bridge. In total, it will cost an estimated $162 million to repair the main span of the bridge, as well as the ramps feeding into it.

The West End Bridge will get $47 million, which will help cover the $120 million projected total cost. Other state and federal money will cover the rest of the cost.

PennDOT is also committing $25 million to the repair of the McKees Rocks Bridge; upgrades that are expected to require $90 million to complete.

“The West End and McKees Rocks bridges are nearly 100 years old,” Davis noted. “We want them to be here for another 100 years.”

Together, the bridges carry more than 310,000 people across the rivers each day.

Design and construction on the projects can move more quickly now that they’ve received additional funds, added PennDOT secretary Mike Carroll. Plus, money that would have gone towards repairing the three bridges can now be spent elsewhere in the region.

“So it’s really good news for Allegheny County, and it’s equally good news for the counties that constitute the southwest region,” Caroll said.

But don’t expect the construction to impact your commute anytime soon. Caroll warned that the projects still need to be designed, so the timeline “will be measured in years.”

“But the good news is, that would be far fewer years than it would have been without the money,” he added. “Compiling the money necessary to deliver these major projects and do all the other things that PennDOT has to do is a real challenge.”

View the full article at wesa.fm.

State and local officials announced Thursday a $132 million-dollar plan to make repairs to three of Pittsburgh’s busiest bridges.

Fort Duquesne, West End, and McKees Rocks, these are the bridges the new investments will focus on.

PA Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis told KDKA Radio how the funds will be distributed amongst the major bridges

“That $132 million includes $60 million to preserve and rehab the Fort Duquesne Bridge as well as multiple approach spans to the bridge,” said Davis. “It includes $47 million more for the West End Bridge and it also includes $25 million for the McKees Rocks Bridge.

Transportation Secretary Mike Carrol noted how design work still needs to be done. The repairs to come need to be measured in months and years.

Built in 1959, the last rehab project on the Fort Duquesne Bridge was in 2009. An average of 18,158 drivers use the lower deck of the bridge every day.

The McKees Rocks Bridge is currently under renovation and the last West End Bridge rehabilitation was in 1991.

“There are significant needs across our transportation network, and certainly in southwest Pennsylvania,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Thanks to the leadership at the federal level that got us the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, more federal funds are available for our program, and thanks to the smart planning by the Shapiro Administration and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, we’re making the most of our federal and state dollars and investing funds in meaningful projects that will benefit Pennsylvania communities.”

View the full article at audacy.com.

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Thursday the state has awarded $132 million in discretionary funds to help upgrade three major bridges — the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the West End Bridge and the McKees Rocks Bridge.

That money will be used to jump-start ongoing design work to improve the bridges, which have been identified as high-priority projects, but PennDOT didn’t have the money to move forward to construction. The special grants — $60 million for Fort Duquesne, $47 million for West End and $25 million for McKees Rocks — only cover a portion of the estimated costs for the projects but will move the work up by several years, said Jason Zang, PennDOT’s district executive for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties.

During a news conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said local officials convinced the administration that the bridges need to be upgraded before they deteriorate to the point where they need serious weight restrictions.

“We can’t put off this work much longer,” Davis said. “We have to take action now.”

Zang said the bridge projects are in various stages of design so it hasn’t been determined where construction will begin first. They will not be rehabilitated at the same time because the other two bridges will serve as alternative routes while one is under construction.

“They are at least a couple of years away,” Zang said. “We’ll go through the design process and see which one is ready first. McKees Rocks is probably the closest because mostly we are going to paint it, and Fort Duquesne is the most complicated.”

The special state funding provides an additional benefit, Zang said, because it means the cost of the bridge work will not have to come from the district’s annual construction package of about $350 million a year. Another $162 million can be spent on other local projects that can be done sooner because that money won’t be used on the bridges.

“That [special funding] will help get other projects moving,” he said.

State Rep. Aerion Abney, D-North Side, said the long-standing joke is that Pittsburghers live in their own neighborhoods and react negatively to the idea of crossing a bridge. That’s not true, he said, because many of his constituents have to cross bridges to obtain food, medical care and other life necessities.

“People cross the bridges all the time,” he said. “I can’t overstate the [importance] of this funding.”

Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, said the projects will create about 1,300 construction jobs with good union wages.

“That’s important, but we can’t overlook the people,” he said. “Our bridges are our gateway.”

Upgrades for those three bridges have been on PennDOT’s wish list for several years. In August 2022, the agency applied unsuccessfully for a $165 million federal competitive grant that would have used part of $12.5 billion in competitive funds available under the Biden administration’s infrastructure program.

It packaged the bridges together because they are among the region’s busiest and are located within a few miles of each other between Point State Park and McKees Rocks.

The Fort Duquesne Bridge, which crosses the Allegheny River between the park and Pittsburgh’s North Side, has had several incidents in recent years where chunks have fallen from the bridge into parking lots and streets under it. The 921-foot double-deck bridge is in line for a new deck, expansion dam replacement and structural steel repairs.

In addition to the bridge itself, 19 ramps and smaller bridges at the North Side end would be included in the work.

The projected cost of that work is $162 million.

The McKees Rocks Bridge, the longest in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties at about 5,900 feet, also needs a new deck and structure work at an estimated cost of $90 million. The bridge spans the Ohio River between the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood at Route 65 and McKees Rocks at Route 51.

That bridge is in the second phase of a $22.4 million project to replace sidewalks and upgrade a series of ramps on the Route 51 end of the structure.

Although the West End Bridge was added to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s Transportation Improvement Plan two years ago for $1.6 million in planning funds, PennDOT included it in the federal grant application in an effort to move it along faster. The bridge is 1,979 feet long and crosses the Ohio River to join the city’s Chateau and West End neighborhoods.

A total rehab of that bridge is estimated at $120 million.

Zang said the agency will continue to seek conditional federal funding for the projects.

View the full article at unionprogress.com.

Big improvements are on the way for three busy bridges: the McKees Rocks, Fort Duquesne and the West End bridges. The investments total $132 million.

The city of bridges requires a regimen of constant repairs. Local politicians say they fought for the money and got it.

These bridges are old and need critical work now. Our local leaders found some more money, but two questions still remain: Will it be enough? And how long do we need to wait before work gets going?

Standing in front of a backdrop of bridges, our politicians say we just secured $132 million to rehab three of them.

“This is yet another example of our administration’s GSD attitude: get stuff done. I’ll let you drop out the ‘stuff,'” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis.

Davis and local leaders asked PennDOT’s secretary to push that funding reserved for critical projects our way. He did, but don’t expect orange cones soon.

“Well, there’s still design work that has to be done and so I would measure probably in months and years and not days and weeks,” said PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll.

Former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who is now the executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, said this money saves us big down the line.

“These bridges are in decent condition right now. In a few years, if they weren’t in such good condition, you’d have to start weight limiting and restricting things and boy, would that hurt the economy here,” Fitzgerald said.

The bulk of the $132 million will go towards repairing the Fort Duquesne Bridge, and then two other 100-year-old bridges.

“It includes $47 million more for the West End Bridge, which was built in 1930 and last saw a rehab of the main river span back in 1991,” Davis said.

And the final $25 million will repair the McKees Rocks Bridge — the longest bridge in Allegheny County that last saw a deck replacement in 1985.

Politicians continue to push for new funding and get creative when it comes to moving money. Because if the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse taught people anything, it’s don’t expect it to keep standing if you’re not going to take care of it.

View the full article at cbsnews.com.