Later Thursday, Senate Republicans killed the Obama bill.
The 51-49 vote fell well short of the 60 votes required under Senate procedures to start work on the bill. Republicans opposed the president because his legislation would be financed by a tax surcharge on income exceeding $1 million.
LaHood challenged congressional opponents to come up with another way to pay for the transportation projects.
"If you don't like the president's pay-for, then find another way to pay for it," he said. "But don't use that as an excuse."
SEPTA officials said the Bridgeport Viaduct needed $34 million in repairs soon or it faced closure and eventual replacement, at a cost of $260 million. Officials estimate the bridge repairs would directly create 324 jobs.
The 3,175-foot-long bridge was built by the Philadelphia & Western Railway in 1911. It carries about 24,000 passengers a month.
Its steel is rusting, its concrete piers are cracking, and its wooden track ties are rotting, SEPTA engineers said.
SEPTA's repair plan calls for cleaning and painting the entire bridge, replacing wooden ties, replacing or reinforcing steel structural members, repairing deteriorated concrete river piers, and installing an inspection catwalk.
Those fixes, chief engineer Jeff Knueppel said, would keep the bridge in service for 40 more years.
SEPTA has deferred the repairs for lack of money. The Bridgeport Viaduct is among scores of crumbling bridges, passenger stations, power substations, and such that make up a $4 billion backlog of SEPTA's unfunded projects.
Obama's Jobs Act would spend $50 billion on transportation projects nationwide, including about $1.4 billion for projects across Pennsylvania.
Contact staff writer Paul Nussbaum at 215-854-4587
or pnussbaum@phillynews.com.
