Funds from state gas tax revenues help support locally owned transportation network
Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced its investment of $468 million help municipalities across the Commonwealth maintain their roads and bridges. These investments, which come from state gas tax revenues, help municipalities pay for things like snow removal and road repaving. Investing these funds directly in our local communities supports Governor Shapiro’s commitment to a transportation network that puts our people to work, strengthens our businesses, and improves our quality of life.
"Our roads and bridges are vital to connecting Pennsylvanians with services and opportunity," said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. "Investments in municipal roads and bridges is a top priority for this administration and are critical to maintaining safe and connected communities."
There are nearly 121,000 miles of public roads in Pennsylvania. Over 2,500 municipalities manage approximately 78,000 miles of roadway and more than 6,600 bridges. Under this administration, more poor-condition bridges were repaired than any other state in the nation and more miles of roadway were improved than any time in the past decade.
"With township and local governments responsible for two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s road miles, we recognize the critical role of liquid fuels funding in maintaining our roadways. However, as vehicles are more fuel-efficient, these funds are diminishing, so we are optimistic for the EV fee implementation to be successful and the additional revenue they will bring to our local governments," said PSATS Executive Director David Sanko. "We appreciate PennDOT’s recognition of local governments as essential partners in the Commonwealth’s transportation network and look forward to continuing our collaboration with PennDOT and the General Assembly to find innovative solutions, ensuring our roads remain smooth, safe, and ready for future journeys."
“The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs commends the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for recognizing borough governments as important participants in the statewide transportation network. These liquid fuels allocations are an essential funding component for preserving this vast network of locally maintained roads, which are so vital to the continued economic viability of this Commonwealth,” said PSAB Executive Director Chris Cap. “Borough communities across Pennsylvania will continue to maintain our portion of the local transportation network and we highly value our exceptional relationship with PennDOT.”
In addition to this distribution, local officials can take advantage of several options to help improve their infrastructure. For example, counties can implement a $5 fee for each vehicle registered to an address within the county and use the funds to help maintain their roads and bridges. Currently, 24 counties have implemented this fee and $293.8 million has been collected and distributed.
Additionally, local governments may apply for low-interest loans from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank, which helps fund and accelerate transportation projects as well as spur economic development.
Learn more about how PennDOT supports local governments on the PennDOT website.
MEDIA CONTACT: Alexis Campbell, 717-783-8800 or alecampbel@pa.gov
# # #