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.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced that the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the West End Bridge and the McKees Rocks Bridge will all undergo major repair work that will last several years, at a cost of $132 million.

Structural repairs to decks, surfaces, underbellies and beams are some of the areas that will gain attention for the projects.

Repairs are expected to run through 2034, a massive work project that will produce at least 1,500 new jobs, based on estimates by the Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council.

“Over 150,000 men and women cross them in one day, living their lives,” said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council. “How much commerce go over top of them? How many fire trucks protect people? How many ambulances?”

Roadways and other structures leading up to the bridges will also face repairs.

“A transportation network that can provide the span across these rivers, and to connect the communities necessary to make sure that the economy of this region and our state thrives,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll said.

“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,” Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said.

View the full article at wtae.com.

This week, we’re taking a look at Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

Like many institutions, it has faced challenges over its 60-year history, but the agency says it’s always working to be better. We discuss what the agency has in store for 2024, the challenges PRT is facing and improvements that riders would like to see.

Segment One: Katharine Kelleman – CEO, Pittsburgh Regional Transit
Segment Two: Laura Chu Wiens – Executive Director, Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Segment Three: Rich Fitzgerald – former Allegheny County Executive and incoming Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

View the video at wtae.com.

The new executive director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission is no stranger to the 10 counties in that organization.

Rich Fitzgerald was Allegheny County’s executive for 12 years, but also served on the SPC board and its executive committee.

Still, Fitzgerald is planning to meet with the boards of commissioners in Indiana, Armstrong, Westmoreland and other counties that surround Allegheny.

His meeting with the Indiana County Commissioners is scheduled for Jan. 22.

“One of my jobs will be to hear from the commissioners what their goals are,” Fitzgerald said Tuesday in an interview that also is for an upcoming annual business review in The Indiana Gazette.

SPC may be best known for its role as a metropolitan planning organization, working on such measures as the Transportation Improvement Plan.

As was disclosed during a series of public meetings this past fall, SPC is dealing with $3.9 billion in traffic projects across 10 counties around Pittsburgh, including Indiana County.

But, as was noted by Indiana County Commissioner Sherene Hess during that interview with Fitzgerald, there is a lot of things happening, involving a wide range of partnerships meant to drive Indiana County forward.

According to SPC’s website, its mission is to help direct the use of state and federal transportation and economic development funds allocated to the region — approximately $35 billion through 2045.

The commission states on that website that it works closely with counties, cities, municipalities, and townships access this funding and support them with their planning needs.

Fitzgerald has served on SPC’s board, working among others with retired Indiana County Commissioner Rodney D. Ruddock during his four terms on the county board, as well as his service on SPC’s executive committee, where Ruddock once was chairman.

Recently, Armstrong County Commissioner Pat Fabian was elected as SPC’s chairman.

Hess also serves on that executive committee, and is part of the SPC’s board along with fellow Commissioners R. Michael Keith and Robin A. Gorman, as well as Indiana County Office of Planning & Development Executive Director Byron G. Stauffer Jr. and Indiana County Chamber of Commerce President Mark Hilliard.

That includes broadband, workforce development and economic development.

SPC is designated by the Appalachian Regional Commission as a Local Development District and by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration as Economic Development District for Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Fitzgerald said he will get the priorities of each county’s officials.

“There will be follow up meetings based on their recommendations,” the new SPC executive director said.

Fitzgerald also wants to look at what opportunities are available in each county.

In Indiana County, a probable destination is Windy Ridge, a county industrial park on the outskirts of White Township’s Oakland Avenue business district, where Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters Inc. purchased nearly 48.5 acres from the Indiana County Development Corporation to construct a 750,000-square-foot fulfillment center, creating 225 permanent full-time jobs.

Another county facility, the 119 Business Park in Center Township, is home to the Air Liquide biomethane project now under development.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, also known as the Southwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission, was formed in 1962.

In 1974, it was designated the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization by the governor of Pennsylvania.

Until 1992, SPRPC only covered the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland, as well as the City of Pittsburgh itself.

In 1992, SPRPC joined with Fayette, Greene and Indiana counties to form the Southwest Pennsylvania Regional Development Council, to as a Local Development District.

In 1999, SPRPC and the council came together as the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, or SPC as it is now known.

In 2003, SPC expanded to include Lawrence County.

View the full article at indianagazette.com.