Did Someone Say Infrastructure?

With Johnstown’s Haynes Street Bridge as a backdrop, state Auditor General Jack Wagner on Thursday called for state and federal leaders to help fix the state’s crumbling transportation infrastructure.

Wagner pointed to crumbling concrete and exposed, rusting steel reinforcement rods on the bridge, which carries Route 271 over the Stonycreek River.

The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat has an interesting piece on the reviews by Jack Wagner, state Auditor General, of Pennsylvania's aging infrastructure.

Wagner estimated it will cost $3 billion annually to bring the state’s transportation system up to 2012 safety standards, a cost he thinks can be covered by a variety of sources.

As auditor general, he reviews how the state is spending revenue, and he thinks there are plenty of areas ripe for change.

Wagner is urging legislators and the governor to follow some of the recommendations outlined last year by a transportation task force.

He would start with an increase in the fuel franchise tax, a shift of state police costs from the transportation budget to the general fund, prison reform, and changes in funding for charter and cyber schools.

“We look at safety issues in audits, and this should be a top priority of state government and federal government,” he said.

 From his point of view, we've got a lot of work to do, and it's not going to be cheap—but it's a matter of safety.

Cambria County has 72 structurally deficient bridges, and it doesn’t take a civil engineer to see that the Haynes Street span has severe problems, Wagner said.

The deficient bridges are owned both locally and by the state.

While in Johnstown last week, PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch outlined the need for additional revenue to cover not only the estimated 5,000 structurally deficient state-owned bridges, but thousands of miles of roadway in need of rehabilitation.

Schoch said he is meeting with legislators on both sides of the aisle in hopes of coming up with a revenue enhancement package that will meet the needs of the state and be acceptable to Gov. Tom Corbett.

The secretary said he is hopeful legislation can be in place by the end of the year.

Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, called for politicians to pass meaningful infrastructure reform, ensuring tax dollars are spent effectively.

Shuster is on the congressional conference committee that began meeting this week on reauthorization of a federal transportation bill.

The Senate earlier this year passed a three-year transportation bill, but the legislation has not progressed in the House.

Meanwhile, Wagner said a national transportation bill and increased transportation funding in Pennsylvania should be a top priority.