There is no question that a large and widening chasm has developed between transportation needs and available funds. In fact, the Transportation Funding and Advisory Commission said we have an immediate need of $3.5 billion to address Pennsylvania's transportation network.
To illustrate the problem, we need to look no further than our own local transportation network. SEPTA, for instance, owns 300 bridges with an average age in excess of 80 years. The transit system's backlog of repairs totals $4.2 billion, according to the Federal Transit Administration. Philadelphia has six of the top-10 worst bridges with the highest traffic volume. The Philadelphia area ranked third-worst nationally in the percentage of deficient bridges, with more than 500.
The problem isn't local, it's statewide. On an average day 22.8 million vehicles cross deficient bridges in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has more bridges considered structurally deficient than any other state. Across the state, 26.5 percent of bridges are deficient and 17 percent obsolete. All told, that's 5,906 bridges that need attention.
At a recent transportation summit that I hosted at Temple University, expert panelists testified about infrastructure conditions and counseled that action is needed now. It is clear that the problem is large and costly, yet few policymakers have jumped up with solutions.
Congress is gridlocked. There is faint hope and likely little immediate help on the horizon from Washington.
