Pa. flush with cash for transportation projects
A runner passes beneath construction scaffolding on the Spring Garden Street bridge that is under repair in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Pennsylvania is implementing a multibillion-dollar transportation work blueprint at a time the federal government is doling out less money for such work.
The higher taxes, fees and fines approved in 2013 are being phased in over five years to generate $2.3 billion mostly for roads and bridges. There will be millions more for railroads, seaports and airports.
Data analyzed by The Associated Press show the state’s increased spending comes even as money made available to the states from the Federal Highway Trust Fund declined 3.5 percent between 2008 and 2013.
In Pennsylvania, the federal funds shrank from $1.7 billion to $1.6 billion— 5.9 percent, or 13 percent when adjusted for inflation.
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