Published by WITF, by Mary Wilson

February 26, 2014

We're not out of February yet, and PennDOT has blown its winter budget.

PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch told House lawmakers Wednesday the harsh winter has wiped out a seasonal budget of $189 million, spending about $11 million dollars over that figure.

Beyond all the salting needed during the storm, the number of freeze-thaw cycles has played a role in "massive, crater-like potholes," Schoch said. "Expect more of that, come next month."

But he said the harsh winter isn't the only reason for torn up roads. "It's a reflection of years of not paving as much as we should have."

He said money from the $2.3 billion transportation funding package passed last fall will help get rid of the potholes with more long-term paving than has been possible in the past.

"Pothole patrol will be out, our crews will be out, trying to keep up with it this winter as it occurs," Schoch said. "And then what you can also expect is to see our crews following that with construction projects to do resurfacing and taking up that old pavement, doing more restorative repairs, which will help reduce the number of potholes going forward."

(Mary Wilson, "Winter wreaks havoc on PennDOT budget, but new funding is a plus," 2/26/14)