Development & Transportation

Since the beginning of 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been working to modernize the way it does business. Now, the public can see what projects have been completed and what projects are still to come, all from the PennDOT website.

Transportation Secretary Barry J. Schoch publicly announced the new site on Tuesday. "PennDOT has a lon-standing tradition of continuous improvement. Now, the public can more easily track our efforts to enhance customer service, save money, and deliver projects more quickly," Schoch said.

2,568 miles of roadway fall under the PennDot District 11 umbrella, and recent weather conditions have lead to a whole new crop of potholes. Jim Struzzi, PennDot District 11 spokesperson, reminds motorists of Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties to report safety concerns by calling 1-800-FIX-ROAD (1-800-349-7623).

The toll-free number can be called to report anything from signs, animal carcasses, or other safety concerns such as snow, ice, faulty drainage, or shoulder drop-offs.

Following a rally to urge Pennsylvania lawmakers to take action to provide consistent funding for public transit in the Pittsburgh region, protestors and officials filed into the monthly Port Authority board meeting.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald followed the well-worn path to Harrisburg this week to talk to lawmakers, department heads, and the Governor about the transit funding crisis. Governor Tom Corbett is expected to release his transportation funding plan within the next couple of weeks, and Fitzgerald said he wanted to talk to the governor ahead of that announcement.

Pittsburgh's Bicycle/Pedestrian coordinator has the goal of doubling the number of bike racks in neighborhood business districts from the current 300 and making similar strides in growing the number of miles of on-street bike lanes from the current 20 miles.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Dan Frankel is introducing a package of bills he said would put a stop to drastic cuts proposed by the Port Authority. The bills would dedicate 2 percent of existing sales tax revenue to mass transit and restructure Act 44 to take contributions the Turnpike Commission is currently making to highways and bridges and put more toward mass transit.

"That would be an additional $200 million above and beyond the $250 million they're already getting, the sales tax would generate $102 million," said Frankel.

The Hickory Street bridge in Johnstown will be closed for two to three weeks while a contractor makes repairs to damages caused by age and salt water corrosion. Ralph DeStefano, PennDOT's bridge engineer for District 9, says the damage was found during an inspection that's part of a major rehabilitation plan scheduled for 2015. During the inspection, they found deterioration in the floor system's connections of "stringers" that run along the length of the bridge and support the concrete deck.

The Port Authority faces a projected $64 million deficit in its upcoming fiscal year. That's due, in part, to an ongoing transportation funding crisis on the state level. To try and stay afloat in the face of such cuts, a plan has been put forth that would dramatically reduce service in Allegheny County and raise fares on remaining service. These, said Port Authority officials, will be very different from cuts that were made in March. At that time, they said, people at least had other options — which will likely not be the case this time.

The head of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission said massive infrastructure upgrades are needed for the Three Rivers' locks and dams.

In an appeal for funding made to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee last week, Port Commission Executive Director James McCarville said each river has its own problems.

The hillside continues to crumble away in Mount Washington near the LeMont Restaurant. Yet another landslide shook the area on Wednesday night. The mountainside repairs are taking longer than originally thought.

The incident closed Grandview Avenue for some time, while the P.J. McArdle Roadway is still closed to traffic.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett will announce a plan to inject new revenues into the state's dilapidated transportation system in his February 5 budget address, according to a top administration official.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch said that the governor still must decide which funding recommendations he'll take from the report issued by his Transportation Funding Advisory Commission last summer.

The Pennsylvania Auditor General said that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has seen its long-term debt more than double since state lawmakers approved legislation requiring the commission to provide infrastructure funding to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and that is hurting the Commission's ability to operate.

Auditor General Jack Wagner said that the agency's debt has ballooned from $2.6 billion to $7.3 billion since Act 44 was passed in 2007.

State police say that driving under the influence was a problem on the roads over the New Year's holiday.

Between December 30th and January 2nd, troopers investigated more than 500 crashes in Pennsylvania. 79 were alcohol-related.

Spokesman Sergeant Anthony Manetta says that the numbers show that drunk driving and not wearing a seat belt are still problems.

Whether traveling east, west, north, or south, into or out of the city of Pittsburgh, motorists will likely be impacted by major roadwork in 2012. PennDOT District 11 (Allegheny and Beaver Counties) has at least three multi-year construction projects on the schedule for the new year: Route 28, Crosstown Boulevard/Veterans' Bridge, and the Squirrel Hill Tunnels on Interstate 376.

PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi said that the department is looking forward to another productive year after a busy 2011.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will be raising tolls by 10 percent for those who pay in cash in starting on New Years Day 2012. Those with E-Z Passes will see their rates remain the same.

Carl DeFebo, a spokesman with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said that it is necessary to raise the tolls to offset costs. The way it is being done is intended to encourage more people to utilize E-Z Pass, which he says costs the comission four times less to process than a cash payment.

Army Corps of Engineers Deputy District Engineer Jeanine Hoey is not quite sure what the new year holds for the Pittsburgh District. That's because their budget was just finalized and the details have yet to filter down.

"We probably have some work on some of our locks and dams. We have a little bit of work on some of our flood control structures, but probably not a significant amount … there'll be some work out at East Branch Dam also," explained Hoey.

She says that the amount of work they do each year varies.

Starting Tuesday, drivers under the age of 18 will face more stringent requirements for obtaining a driver's license, and more restrictions when they first get one.

The new law adds 15 hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel training for driver's license permit holders younger than 18. That brings the total to 65 hours. Ten of those additional hours must be completed after dark, and five of them in poor weather conditions.

Passengers will be able to ride the T to the North Shore for free when the Port Authority opens the tunnel under the Allegheny River next year. The Stadium Authority of the City of Pittsburgh voted today to split the cost of underwriting the service with Alco Parking.

The deal extends the free downtown zone to the North Side T Station, to be located at the West General Robinson Street Garage.

Under the agreement, the Stadium Authority and Alco would pay Port Authority a combined $160,000 in the first year of operation, with a $5,000 bump in each of the next two years.

The Allegheny Regional Asset District has approved $100,000 in funding for a project that will better link downtown Pittsburgh to the region's trail system.

The Mon Wharf Switchback Ramp will slope down from the Smithfield Street Bridge to the Mon Wharf Landing park and trail. The completed project will allow cyclists easy access in and out of the golden triangle, Point State Park, and the Great Allegheny Passage. The Allegheny Passage is an interstate trail system running 150 miles between Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.

On Monday, the Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, an advocacy group for those with disabilities, held the first of what it hopes will be several forums on improving transportation options for people with disabilities in the Pittsburgh region. The focus will be on requesting that taxi cabs comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

PennDOT is reminding people not to get behind the wheel impaired this holiday season. In 2010, there were more than 12,000 DUI crashes and over 52,000 arrests in Pennsylvania.

Steve Cowan, Safety Press Officer for PennDOT District 11 (including Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence Counties), said police will be out looking for drunk drivers now through New Year's Day.

Pennsylvania's driver's license and identification cards just became more difficult to counterfeit.

PennDOT has added a new hologram feature to any newly-produced license that should make counterfeits even more apparent than before. PennDOT spokeswoman Jan McKnight explained the new addition.

Pennsylvania State Police reported 1,007 crashes on state roads over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday. Commissioner Frank Noonan said that the accidents resulted in ten deaths and 326 injuries. Last year, 17 people were killed in 1,091 crashes on state roads.

Noonan said that four of the deaths were in alcohol-related crashes. Of the 1,007 crashes, 103 were tied in some way to drinking.

Allegheny County is holding a public meeting on Wednesday to gather input on the Allegheny Valley Community Trails Initiative. The project would expand the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and ultimately link Pittsburgh to Erie and Harrisburg.

"It connects 17 municipalities to the trail, and the multi-municipal planning piece is really important to these riverfront communities," said Darla Cravotta, special projects coordinator with Allegheny County.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation ranks Thanksgiving as the most dangerous holiday for travelers. In an effort to help motorists get to their destinations in one piece this year, PennDOT is partnering with police to encourage safe driving.

PennDOT warns motorists to expect heightened enforcement of seatbelt laws. Officials said that law enforcement will be on the lookout for aggressive and impaired driving. Sobriety checkpoints will pop up around the state, along with the regular traffic safety patrols.

Lawmakers in Washington DC have put an end to federal funding for President Obama's national high-speed rail program, but officials in Pennsylvania are not yet ready to declare the efforts in their state dead.

A six-mile stretch of land northeast of downtown Pittsburgh is getting ready for a big transition. What is currently the Allegheny Valley Railroad Right-of-Way will be the future home to the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard.

The boulevard could include riverfront park access, neighborhoods, kayak and boat access, and a multi-use rail corridor capable of transporting people to offices or entertainment downtown.

Restrictions on teen drivers have become law. The ban on texting while driving will be signed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett on Wednesday, but some lawmakers say there is still a lot of work to be done.

Pennsylvania State Representative Eugene DePasquale (D-York County) wants to make it illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving unless you are using a hands-free device.

Pennsylvania drivers have the fourth highest odds of hitting deer in the United States, according to an annual report from State Farm. The insurance company calculated that drivers have a one in 86 chance of hitting a deer in the next year, although those odds are down from last year.

According to PennDOT, there were about 14,000 deer-strike crashes between 2006 and 2010. More than 3,100 people were injured and 43 killed in those accidents.

State troopers from Allegheny and Washington Counties began a crackdown on speeding drivers on I-79 on Tuesday that will continue through November 13.

Pennsylvania State Police are using speed display trailers on the side of the road to alert drivers to how fast they're traveling compared to the speed limit and provide fair warning.

Jay Ofsanik, spokesman for PennDOT's District 12, said this is the first time in a while that state police have targeted speeding while using speed trailers.