News

July 29, 2010

$382M in road projects OK’d

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer
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DUNMORE – Transportation officials Wednesday approved $382 million in road, bridge and mass transit projects in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties to be funded over the next four years.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization, made up of representatives of private industry and government organizations and agencies within the counties, will send its 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program on for inclusion in the state’s plan.

In order to receive federal funds, the projects must be included in the state and local programs.

The list is heavy with bridge repair and construction and contains few new projects that add capacity to the transportation infrastructure in the two counties. Among the new roads are the South Valley Parkway, a two-lane connector road from Hanover Township to Nanticoke, and an access road from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to the Grimes Industrial Park.

George Roberts, district executive with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 4-0, said the funding will be split, with 90 percent going for maintenance and 10 percent for capacity-adding projects.

Not all the projects on the list will be undertaken within the four-year period because of funding constraints, however.

The district and others across the state and country are working under funds authorized in 2009 under the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A legacy for users.

The tight budget has produced a highly competitive environment for the projects. The number of bids has increased, probably due to a decrease in private work, Roberts said.

“We’ve had better bids,” he said, adding the average is lower than in past bidding cycles by between 5 percent and 8 percent.

The SAFETEA-LU funding likely will remain at the 2009 level for a while, said Robin Metz, manager of transportation program development with PENNDOT’s central office in Harrisburg.

Legislators are hesitant to reauthorize the SAFETEA-LU and raise taxes to increase funding because of the huge federal deficit, she told the MPO members who met at the Dunmore PENNDOT office.

“There may likely be no reauthorization until after the next (presidential) election in 2012,” Metz said.

Projects that received federal earmarks that have not been used have been targeted for recission, she said.

The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed H.R 5730 that takes back $713 million in earmarks.

The local TIP contains eight projects with earmarks, but it could not be determined if any of them are included in the legislation.

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