PennDOT Maps Highlight Funding Crisis

Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation has posted two maps online that call attention to the state’s transportation funding shortfall.

One map shows what transportation projects will be cut if no transportation funding solution is found. The other depicts new projects that could move forward if PennDOT had funding increases of $1 billion, $1.5 billion, or $2 billion.

PennDOT spokesman Steve Chizmar says the maps “bring the message home to each and every Pennsylvanian,” because one can view projects by county.

Pennsylvania lost about $472 million in transportation funding this April, when the federal government denied the state’s bid to toll its section of Interstate 80. Since then, Governor Ed Rendell has repeatedly asked the legislature to come up with a solution. In the next few months, a special legislative session is expected to address the issue.