Lehigh Valley mayors join call for Congress to pass infrastructure bill

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The mayors of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton joined their peers in cities and small towns across the nation, to send a letter to Congress calling for passage of a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would pay for repairs to crumbling roads and bridges.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto said the bill would be for the entire country and while he’s not sure Easton would get any money, when the infrastructure gets a D grade, it needs to be improved. “This would improve our economy, create jobs for workers, and enable us to move goods from one side of the country to the other,” he said.

Mayor Robert Donchez of Bethlehem said his city gets funding because it has about 300 miles of roads, many that are in disrepair. The water system, which serves about a dozen communities is old and in need of upgrades, especially in South Bethlehem, he said.

“Among other things, it makes the largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak and could result in the resumption of passenger rail service between Allentown and New York City, which ceased some 60 years ago,” said Allentown Mayor Ray O’Connell.

The bill would provide $550 billion for upgrades to transportation, broadband and utility systems, and would create “good paying, family-sustaining jobs,” he said.

Panto agreed. “Passenger rail service should connect us to New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.”

The Biden administration this week released a report highlighting the impact the bill would have on Pennsylvania. Benefits included: repair roads and bridges, improve transportation options, build a network of chargers to accelerate the adoption of electrical vehicles, expand access to high-speed internet.

Specifically, the bill would provide:

• $11.3billion to repair Pennsylvania’s 7,540 miles of highway with a poor condition rating.
• $1.6billion to repair and replace Pennsylvania’s 3,353 bridges in poor condition.
• $2.8billion to improve public transportation options across Pennsylvania, including the 25% of public transit vehicles passed their useful life.
• $171million expand the state’s EV charging network.
• $100 million to expand broadband coverage across the state, including access to nearly 400,000 Pennsylvanians who don’t have it.
• $9million to give low-income families eligibility for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will them afford internet access.

Panto said there a number of federal and state roads in disrepair, such as Route 611 North. “The road will fall down if the retaining wall isn’t fixed soon,” he said. “The road and the river are state-owned but somehow, we are responsible for the guard rail (retaining wall),” he said.

In the letter, the mayors stressed that federal leaders should continue to empower local leaders by investing in communities by delivering systems such as Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, Community Development Block Grants, and Surface Transportation Block Grants.

The roughly $1.2 trillion plan President Biden negotiated with congressional leaders last month would make a historic investment in the state’s physical infrastructure, the letter said. The framework would fix the hundreds of roads and bridges in poor condition in Pennsylvania, make critical investments in our clean energy future, and help America compete with China and other economic rivals.

“I am pleased that the Senate is taking up the bill this week and I urge Sen. (Bob) Casey, D, and Sen. (Pat) Toomey, R, to vote favorably,” O’Connell said.