In 2022, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Pennsylvania’s overall infrastructure a C- grade.  This rating is especially disheartening for Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure which was graded as follows: Aviation (B-); Bridges (D+); Rail (C); Roads (C-); Transit (D); and Ports (C+). Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has some of the oldest infrastructure in the country which makes it difficult and expensive to maintain, especially for our local governments.
 
To address this issue, I will soon be introducing legislation allowing certain local governments to take advantage of public-private partnerships (P3s) for transportation projects. P3s authorize governments to coordinate with private entities for the engineering, construction, operation, financing, and maintenance of a transportation project or facility. This allows for the completion of transportation projects with significant cost savings and accelerated project delivery.  
 
Currently, only PennDOT and certain transportation agencies are permitted to use P3s for transportation projects. My legislation will allow all counties, as well as the Cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, to use P3s for transportation projects. Under this legislation, the current P3 process would remain unchanged and all P3 proposals would still need to be approved by the statewide P3 Board to ensure that these projects serve the needs of our communities and the Commonwealth.
 
Please join me in cosponsoring this important legislation giving our local governments the tools they need to improve their transportation infrastructure.