Nutter optimistic on city’s chance for federal funding

    Philadelphia mayor meets with President Obama on city’s transportation needs. Critical areas include SEPTA fare collection and road repairs.

    After meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is optimistic that additional federal funding for infrastructure will come the city’s way.

    The mayor said Philadelphia has many critical transportation projects — such as an upgrade to SEPTA’s fare-collection system and numerous road repair projects — in need of federal funding.

    Nutter said he outlined several of those transportation priorities.

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    “We talked about the need for capacity enhancement or expansion out at Philadelphia International Airport, talked about the rules being fair as it relates to transit versus highway funding,” he said.

    After sitting down with the president, he said he feels confident that, eventually, a bipartisan infrastructure bill will pass Congress.

    “All of us are affected, regardless of political party, when these systems don’t work or they fail or you sit in traffic for hours or a bridge or a road gets shut down because it’s structurally deficient,” said Nutter. “There have been past efforts that have had bipartisan support. We certainly hope that it happens this time.”

    Nutter traveled to Washington along with Gov. Ed Rendell, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and others looking for help from Washington.

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