March 9th, 2020

PennDOT commits $487M to municipalities to maintain roads and bridges

The Pennsylvania DOT (PennDOT) has committed $487.5 million in liquid fuels payments to help certified municipalities maintain their roads and bridges.

“We have the fifth-largest state-maintained road system in the country, and there are even more locally owned roads and bridges,” Acting PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said in a statement. “These investments help keep our communities safe and connected.”

PennDOT‘s annual distributions assist with municipalities’ highway and bridge-related expenses such as snow removal and road repaving. There are 120,596 miles of public roads in Pennsylvania. There are 73,037 miles owned by municipalities and eligible for liquid fuels. The formula for payments is based on a municipality’s population and miles of locally owned roads.

State legislation in 2013 made more funding available for locally owned roadways. Before the law, municipalities received $320.8 million in liquid fuels payments.

To be eligible for liquid fuels, a roadway must be formally adopted as a public street by the municipality, meet certain dimension requirements, and be able to safely accommodate vehicles driving at least 15 mph.

Source: PennDOT