Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by John Schmitz

September 30, 2014

Gov. Tom Corbett visited the site of the $28.5 million Birmingham Bridge rehabilitation project today to tout the benefits of the transportation funding legislation he signed last year.

Noting that he visited the rusting bridge last year to urge the Legislature to pass a funding measure, Mr. Corbett said “this bridge, the Birmingham Bridge, once a symbol of the need for more investment in our infrastructure, is soon going to be the shining example of that investment.”

The governor also addressed critics of the legislation, who said a restructuring of the gasoline tax would translate to higher pump prices.

“To those critics … I’d simply ask you to take a look at the price of gas today. It’s less than it was a few months ago and it’s less than it was at the time that we passed this bill,” he said.

While not a campaign event per se, the visit clearly was meant to underscore one of Mr. Corbett’s achievements at a time when he trails Democratic challenger Tom Wolf in the polls.

The governor was joined by several dozen supporters and beneficiaries of the transportation bill, including Philip Ameris, president and business manager of the Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania, who said employment in his union has risen 30 percent in the past year.

Rich Barcaskey, executive director of the Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania, said the state has had an increase of 10,800 construction jobs since August 2013.

Mr. Corbett said PennDOT will have 250 projects underway by the end of this year that wouldn’t have been possible without the transportation bill. The projects will upgrade 1,600 miles of roads and 83 bridges, he said.

Rehabilitation of the 38-year-old Birmingham Bridge was one of them; it will get steel and substructure repairs, a new concrete surface, lighting upgrades and a fresh coat of paint between now and 2017.

“Everybody will notice a difference, those who ride on the bridge and those who see the bridge as they come into town,” Mr. Corbett said.

(John Schmitz, "In visit to Pittsburgh bridge, Corbett touts transportation improvements," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/30/14)