Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
FReepmail me to be added to the list.
Posted on 05/31/2022 11:25:29 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Six months ago, state officials couldn’t have been happier as the U.S. Department of Transportation regularly announced billions of additional dollars that would be available for road and bridge projects.
Now, with rampant inflation and problems getting basic materials like concrete and asphalt, especially for overnight work, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials say they are concerned that the federal windfall may not have nearly the benefit they expected.
Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT’s district executive for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, said last week that low bids for contracts have been coming in 10% to 20% higher than the department anticipated. Among the problems are the cost and availability of construction materials, rising fuel costs, and the availability of workers, especially for the overnight work the department prefers to reduce the impact of road projects on traffic.
“It’s very disappointing,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said. “We were very excited when this money became available because it would allow us to do a lot of work that we know needs to be done.
“It’s extremely frustrating. If you’re letting $300 million in projects out for bids and they come in 10% higher than expected, that’s $30 million of projects you can’t do.”
Ms. Moon-Sirianni said late last year the district added several hundred million dollars of major construction projects to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s recently released draft Transportation Improvement Plan for the next four years. Those include upgrading the West End and McKees Rocks bridges and paving Business Route 22 from Wilkins through Monroeville.
“We put those on there, but now I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “If the bids continue to come in at that level, we won’t be able to get to them all.”
The higher costs aren’t just limited to the Pittsburgh area.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
PING!
Infrastructure in dysfunctional countries tends to deteriorate. We may be witnessing the beginnings of that here.
And we Pennsylvanians put up with the second highest gas tax in the nation to fund those infrastructure projects.
And you know what the answer to these inflation-caused limits is? More spending! Let’s spend our way out of inflation!!
Abuse a Democrat today.
Oh, poor baby! Try working for a company that needs to show a reasonable profit, ya government drone! What are your bidders supposed to do? Eat those inflationary costs?
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
FReepmail me to be added to the list.
https://www.penndot.pa.gov/PennDOTWay/Pages/Article.aspx?post=91
The ditz’s promotion announcement at PENNDOT. Just as you would expect... 35 years of working for government.
Took 60 years to finish the PA Turnpike, finished it 82 years ago, still collecting tolls on it but NOW it’s different and PA’s road “maintenance” is going to suffer. Jeez, the BS never ends. What’s the excuse for the collapsed bridge in Pittsburgh? Did it know about the coming inflation? I’m so glad my grandparents got the hell out of that state.
She is going to be even more stunned when the inevitable delays start because materials or labor are not available...at any price.
Then the change orders will hit....
Then the lawsuits start....
Infrastructure is easy to say, hard to do.
...it is NEVER enough money for the most greedy in our society....politicians.
“Infrastructure in dysfunctional countries tends to deteriorate. We may be witnessing the beginnings of that here.”
The beginning was Long Ago.
Bridges and walkways have been collapsing since the early 70’s. Partial list.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/15/us/bridge-collapse-history-trnd/index.html
I would happily spend more on infrastructure if I thought they would actually fix it, and if we can cut elsewhere.
A friend of mine was talking to one of his local officials about the dilapidated infrastructure, specifically roads that need to be repaired over and over.
Friend: “Why don’t we just use concrete?”
Official: “Are you trying to put people out of work?”
Oh don’t worry, the right pockets will wind up padded either way..
The Point Pleasant Silver Bridge collapse was investigated in a book called The Mothman Prophecies which was made into a movie starring Richard Gere.
People reported seeing a man sized moth like creature starting one year before the bridge collapsed. After the bridge collapse the moth man was never seen again.
We have a bridge in our very rural area that connects two small towns (CT).
It has been “under construction” (repairs) for more than ten years!
It is an extra eight miles drive to connect the two points.
You cannot make steel for bridges, etc. with solar or wind power.
REQUIRES fossil fuels to reach those temps.
You pretend all you want about doing more infrastructure-—but you cannot make the steel......
Funny thing about Monopoly money, no?
But you can damn sure bet the union bosses who will benefit from those infrastructure jobs will not miss a penny of increased pay (kickbacks).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.