Pittsburgh, PA, August 3, 2007- “The collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis is a tragedy and our Association is deeply saddened for all those affected,” said Richard J. Barcaskey, Executive Director of the Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania (CAWP). “While the investigation into this bridge collapse continues, we as citizens of western Pennsylvania need to recognize the number of old and structurally deficient bridges in our own backyards.”
The Association recognizes the efforts of the Governor and Pennsylvania Legislature who recently agreed on a transportation funding package for the Commonwealth. However, it did not come close in meeting the investment recommended by the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission in November of last year.
The Transportation Funding and Reform Commission’s (TFRC) report concluded Pennsylvania’s bridges and roads are becoming less safe, as well as more congested.
“Pennsylvania has more than twice the percentage of structurally deficient bridges than the national average, and more than a third of the 21,000 miles of state-owned secondary roads are rated ‘poor.’ Pennsylvania’s state owned bridges are on average 50 years old.”
-TFRC Report, Executive Summary, pg. 3
Large and badly needed investments are unpopular with the legislature and the public because they ultimately require an increase in gas taxes and registration fees. “Unfortunately, we must all recognize that our freedom to travel our highways and cross over our many bridges is not free,” said Barcaskey. “It requires a significant investment that not only ensures our mobility, but keeps our roads and bridges safe and properly maintained.”
The following is the status of bridges in the 33 counties of western Pennsylvania represented by CAWP:
