How much blame or credit for pushing the project forward should lie with Dan Onorato, the top elected official in the Pittsburgh region for the last 6 1/2 years and now the Democratic gubernatorial nominee?
His answer is: not a lot. He says that by the time he was elected Allegheny County executive in 2003, the project was too far along to even consider stopping it.
His critics contend, however, that Onorato can't duck at least some responsibility for the project - good or bad - while at the same time seeming to take credit for every good thing that happens in the county, including even an uptick in the economy.
A recent news release from the Onorato campaign, for instance, bragged that "under his leadership, Allegheny County has a lower unemployment rate than both the state and the nation."
"He can't have it both ways," said Kevin Harley, spokesman for Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Corbett, the state attorney general. "He takes credit for things that have been taking place in Allegheny County for the past 30 years. But when things go poorly while he is in office, it's everybody else's fault. It's the Dan Onorato two-step."
The project, envisioned at $390 million in 2001, has escalated in cost by almost 75 percent. Only the recent injection of $62 million in federal stimulus funds has held the project afloat.
The project, which will extend a 26-mile light-rail system by 1.2 miles, is now under construction and is scheduled for completion in March.
Two perfectly round tubes already have been dug under 25 feet of river water and under another 25 feet of rock and soil. One underground and one aboveground station are being built. Construction is 70 percent complete.
