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Governor Wolf outlines statewide ‘Resurface PA' initiative

Published  June 2, 2018 3:01pm EDT
US
FOX 29 Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Governor Tom Wolf met with the Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards on Wednesday to discuss a new initiative to repave roads and address potholes across Pennsylvania.

Both the governor and the secretary have released a document explaining this statewide plan.

"This is a problem that plagues Pennsylvanians every year, but after this winter season we are accelerating repairs and much-needed projects to improve travel in the short-term and in the future," said Governor Wolf. "Resurface PA is our latest step to improve roadways across the state and enhance our roadways' safety and condition."

Due to this year's harsh winter and temperature swings, Governor Wolf announced last week that PennDOT is spearheading the work to repave and address potholes on Pennsylvania roads. The document adds that a significant part of the work will be financed using savings from other projects since the governor took office.

The released statement has indicated that the department has prioritized $22.3 million for immediate pothole repairs statewide through June 30. It also states that an additional $7 million will be invested in seven interstate maintenance projects covering potholes and other repairs on 78 miles of road throughout this year.

The released document explains other new investments to help address the condition of the roads. They include:

Overall, these new commitments will make 17 interstate paving and preservation projects over 255 miles long happen at least two years sooner than scheduled.

These accelerated projects will be added to the 85 interstate projects covering more than 775 miles already in place and projected to begin or finish this year.

"Resurface PA builds on our significant and ongoing investments on rural and urban roadways alike," Richards said. "This initiative has made more resources available to accelerate years of interstate improvements while continuing our crews' ongoing hard work."

Through the end of April, PennDOT crews had used nearly 23,000 tons of asphalt repairing potholes statewide, equal to the weight of roughly 1,500 PennDOT dump trucks. PennDOT has spent more than $17 million on pothole repairs statewide through the end of April this year.