PennDOT seeks federal money to fill gap

With revenue down 30% during the coronavirus outbreak, PennDOT officials are anxiously waiting to learn if federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will fill the gap.

“The biggest challenge is that we were not ready for a pandemic and a complete shut down,” PennDOT Acting Secretary Yassmin Gramian said this week dur

ing a teleconference call with reporters. “We had to figure out what we could do and what we could not do. We had to make sure that people are properly equipped. It is challenging balancing public health and economic health.”

Gramian said if the CARES funding comes through, it will give a boost to the economy on the construction side.

“If not, we will have to reevaluate our programs and prepare for the best adjustments,” she said.

The hope is to receive $700 million to $800 million in 2020, and $1.3 billion in 2021 from the CARES package.

Since Gov. Tom Wolf issued a stay-at-home order for non-essential businesses March 19, revenues have been severely hampered.

The primary revenue loss is funding from a gasoline tax paid by consumers. The revenue is dropping because people are driving less.

PennDOT’s annual budget of nearly $10 billion includes $3.7 million in revenue from gas taxes.

Consumers pay a 57.6 cent tax to PennDOT and an 18.5 cent tax to the federal government for every gallon of gas purchased.

Typically, about $2.8 billion from the gas tax is used for highway and bridge upgrades.

Another problem facing PennDOT is that fewer motorists are driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, resulting in less revenue from the turnpike commission going to PennDOT. The turnpike pays $450 million to PennDOT to use for transit services.

The turnpike notified PennDOT that it could not make its July payment of $112 million.

BARTA does not rely on the turnpike transit budget for its funding, said David W. Kilmer, executive director of South Central Transit Authority, which oversees BARTA.

Kilmer said BARTA has received $10 million from the CARES act.

Overall, Gramian said PennDOT is focused on doing everything possible to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

She said the staff has been working 19-hour days to figure out how to resume operations.

Construction resumed this week on PennDOT road projects. The funding for those projects already was allocated.

PennDOT staff has been telecommuting throughout the pandemic.

“Our staff is looking forward to getting back as soon as possible,” Gramian said. “We want to make sure we are doing it safely.”

Before the pandemic, PennDOT already was planning to cut spending on local road projects.

PennDOT had met with local transportation planners throughout the year to explain the necessity of reallocating funds to interstate highways, which have higher traffic volumes than local highways.

In Berks, the funds were redirected to Interstate 78 projects in Greenwich and Tilden townships and Hamburg.

Subsequently, Berks transportation planners spread out the time frame for road projects on Routes 422, 222 and 61.

BEN HASTY — MEDIANEWS GROUP PennDOT is dealing with a loss of gasoline tax revenue because people are driving less during the coronavirus pandemic.