Report: Pennsylvania's Transportation Infrastructure Is Seriously Underfunded
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The cost fixing Pennsylvania's transportation network is high but the cost of not doing it is higher, so says a new report.
The report from TRIP, a national transportation research group, puts a new coat of worry on a long-term problem, that Pennsylvania seriously underfunds this kind of infrastructure. Many roads and bridges are decades old -- some SEPTA bridges are centenarians -- and they need more than paint or blacktop.
TRIP's Carolyn Bonifas Kelly says drivers routinely pay for this with higher maintenance costs, say from potholes, to less safety from accidents.
"Just like deteriorated roads, congestion robs drivers of money and time at a time when many of them can ill-afford it," Kelly says. "The lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion cost the average Philadelphia driver more than $1,000 each year."
There's a bill in Harrisburg to raise fees to the tune of $40 to $65 per driver a year to pay for transportation upkeep, but there's worry any solution will not be big enough to address the ever-widening shortfall.
