Pennsylvania to pump $2.4 billion into its transportation system

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R-Pa.) signed a transportation bill into law that invests an additional $2.3 to $2.4 billion into the state’s roads and bridges by the fifth year of the plan, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). The bill will also provide funding for transit systems across the state.

By the fifth year of the plan, the transportation package will invest an additional $1.3 billion annually for state roads and bridges; $480 million to $495 million annually for public transportation; $237 million annually for local roads and bridges; $144 million annually in a multi-modal fund; $30 million annually for dirt, gravel and low-volume roadways; and $86 million annually for Pennsylvania Turnpike expansion projects.

Partial funding for the new transportation package is being derived from the elimination of the flat 12-cent gas tax and modernizing an outdated transportation financing structure through the uncapping of the wholesale, Oil Company Franchise Tax.

According to PennDOT, Pennsylvania law states that revenues from fuel taxes must be directed to highway and bridge-related costs and state police patrol functions and not used for any other purpose. Many road and bridge projects are slated to start next spring.