By Peter Hall | Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Federal funding for highway, rail, and other infrastructure projects in Pennsylvania is in question under the Trump administration, the commonwealth’s top transportation official said in a state House budget hearing last Wednesday.
The grants from the Biden administration would pay for transportation improvements, including the replacement of a bridge carrying Interstate 83 over the Susquehanna River and a second daily Amtrak passenger train between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“Funds that were discretionary awards, that haven’t been obligated, are sort of in question right now,” Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll said. “It doesn’t mean they’re lost. They’ve been paused, and we would be hesitant to go forward with the use of those funds absent an obligation.”
He appeared before the Appropriations Committee to answer questions about Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget request for PennDOT. Carroll said he’s hopeful the federal government would stand by its grant awards.
“Thirteen million Pennsylvanians are shared constituents of Gov. Shapiro and President (Donald) Trump,” he said. “When it comes to the delivery of a transportation network, no matter what mode we’re talking about, these grants were all important grants.”
One of the projects Carroll highlighted is a $500 million award to rebuild the south span of the John Harris Memorial Bridge in Harrisburg, which is 65 years old and has reached the end of its useful life. It’s part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program, which will provide a total of $5 billion in grants to fund reconstruction, repair and restoration of 13 “nationally significant bridges” in 16 states.
Another is a grant of $144 million by the Federal Railroad Administration to increase the capacity of tracks owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. to accommodate a second daily train on Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian Service.
Carroll said the effort to restore passenger rail service between Scranton and New York’s Penn Station is ongoing “absent any declaration from the Federal Railroad Administration to stop.” That project is one of five in the nation, some of which are in Republican-controlled states, Carroll noted, that have advanced to a service development plan.
“We have bus loads of folks, especially in the Poconos, that go back and forth every day to northern New Jersey and New York City. I have no doubt that if we have the restoration of passenger rail, we will have folks on that train every day,” Carroll said.
He said a third rail project, to restore passenger service from Reading to Philadelphia, is not as far along. That’s the subject of an FRA-funded planning and development effort, but has yet to receive funding to begin the planning phase of the Scranton project.
“It would be a fool’s errand for me to try and predict future steps from the FRA or any of our other federal partners when it comes to how they intend to orchestrate the delivery of these projects,” Carroll said, adding that he remains positive federal partners will recognize the importance of all three rail projects.
“I know people that are Democrats, Republicans, independents and unregistered folks [who] use our assets every day. And so I live in a world where there are no red or blue bridges. There are bridges,” Carroll said, noting the I-83 bridge project received support from every member of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.
Carroll testified in the nearly three-hour hearing about PennDOT’s $11.6 billion overall budget request. Many centered on Shapiro’s proposal for a $292.5 million increase in transit funding, as public transportation agencies across the state face budget constraints, looming fare hikes, and service cuts.
Also in question is the future of funding to build electric vehicle charging stations along the commonwealth’s interstate highways. PennDOT is slated to receive $170 million under the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and has committed $70 million to build eight charging centers.
“I consider that a contractual obligation. The remaining $100 million is in question. What the Trump administration and what the (U.S. Department of Transportation) and others in D.C. decide to do with that remains to be seen,” Carroll said.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.
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