Trump's Leaked Infrastructure Plan Shifts Burden to States, Local Government

Imagine you're driving along Route 22 on your way to Bethlehem or Allentown. But when you get to the exit ramp, you're greeted by an unfamiliar sight - a toll booth. Under Donald Trump's much ballyhooed $1.7 trillion infrastructure plan, which was recently leaked, this could happen. As Governing explains, it's a plan in which the federal government will pay only 20% of the cost, with the rest of the money coming from state government, local government and private investment.

Most of the money is going to Trumperica, the rural states who voted for him.

The private investment comes in the form of a public-private partnership called P3 or PPP. Basically, it privatizes America. The Millions of Jobs Coalition criticizes the plan as one that "will rely heavily on selling off public roads to Wall Street billionaires and foreign corporations that would place new tolls on Americans and ignore the needs of everyday people."

Should Lehigh Valley Start DePaving Roads?

Though his detractors forget this, one reason why Don Cunningham was so effective as Bethlehem's Mayor is because he aggressively attacked roads. Unlike most politicians, he understood how important good roads are to a community. He may have recognized that there's also a political dividend. But as the cost of materials increase and other municipal expenses mount, it is becoming very for many Lehigh Valley communities to maintain their roads. I have an idea that might sound ridiculous, but just might work - depaving.

According to LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley, there are 4,105 miles of roads in the Lehigh Valley. Most - 3,046 miles - are owned by local communities. Do they all really need to be paved?

Depaving roads has gone on for some time in other states. In Texas, a funding shortage in 2013 forced the state to depave 80 miles of roads. But it's apparently going on in at least 27 states, according to Wired. This is because, in addition to limited public dollars, the costs of asphalt, cement and concrete have gone up.

In Bethlehem Township, it will cost about $3.9 million to repair about 9,000 ft along Brodhead Road. That has to be done. But what about low volume roads like Wilson Avenue, which runs parallel to the Lehigh River? It might make sense to depave that road.

I am sure there are numerous low-volume roads, even in Lehigh Valley cities that could be depaved. Roads in City parks, for example, should probably be unpaved.

State funding is available for communities looking at depaving roads.

Bethlehem Tp Wants PennDOT to Repair Easton Avenue Culvert

Collapsed culvert on Easton Avenue 

Bethlehem Township Commissioners unanimously authorized Marty Zawarski, ath their June 1 meeting, to demand that PennDOT undertake repairs on a collapsed culvert along Easton Avenue, directly across the street from The Keystone Pub.

In March, Bethlehem Township's Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to fix the culvert, with Commissioner Michael Hudak providing the sole No vote. Although he agreed the matter needed to be addressed for public safety reasons, he argued that more pressure should be placed on PennDOT, which owns Easton Avenue. PennDOT has insisted it had nothing to do with the problem, although it was willing to supply materials and labor for the repair.

Research and a City resident make clear that PennDOT had more to do in that area than it remembers now.

A title search reveals that the culvert in question is actually owned by the homeowners along that portion of Easton Avenue. But it also revealed that PennDot installed the culvert.

In 1977, Debra LaForm stepped out of her stalled car during a rainstorm to make a call for help from the nearby hotel now known as The Keystone Pub. Returning to her car, she suddenly vanished. She had stepped into an open drainage ditch, which sucked her body through an 18" drainage pipe and ultimately, into the Nancy Run Creek.

Her body was found eight hours later.

This has been a problem area in Bethlehem Township for many years because it is a low point in the Nancy Run watershed. Township engineer Leonard Fraivillig refused to approve PennDOT plans for stormwater along that roadway because he believed a straight 96-inch pipe would be necessary to drain the ditch on the west side of Santee Road. PennDOT nevertheless went ahead anyway. Fraivillig's plan was never acted on because it was too costly.

This, along with an absence of fences or guardrails around that ditch, cost Debra LaForma her life.

The collapsed culvert being studied by the Township now is on the other side of the street, and PennDOT has insisted it has no responsibility in that area. But Bethlehem resident Scott Culpepper remembers that, in the early '70s, when he was fresh out of college, he was working for PennDOT as a laborer and was involved in the installation of the grates over the collapsed culvert to which PennDOT disavows any knowledge.

"If in fact PennDot did install the grates then it is clearly their responsibility not ours," noted Commissioner Michael Hudak.

Testimony in the LaFrom case includes a PennDOT engineer who acknowledged installing the grates.

Q. Now, after the 1959 and 1960 construction, were there any grates at the intersection, either intersection? I say one, but it is really two, Willow park and Santee.

A. I do recall that our maintenance, our county maintenance from Northampton county, rebuilt –

Q. That is, again, PennDOT?

A. PennDOT, yes. – we rebuilt a portion of the sidewalk around this radius. There was a collapse of the top of the box culvert, a two-foot by three-foot concrete box. Instead of putting a concrete sidewalk on top of it, they put a steel grate bridge flooring on top of it; primarily, to take care of the impact loads from trucks that were going around this corner. It happens to be a fairly sharp radius, and, especially, rear wheels of tractor trailers would go over the curb and on the sidewalk. So in order to reinforce that, we put in bridge flooring, instead of concrete sidewalks.

Q. How large was that bridge flooring, which is – it is like a metal grate, is it not?

A. That’s right. Approximately, five, six inches thick.

Q. How large is that?

A. I don’t know what the exact length of it is.

Bethlehem Township Solicitor Jim Broughal met with PennDOT officials and presented his findings, and the state agency still refuses to repair the culvert. Broughal suggested a formal demand was a necessary step to anything that follows. Copies of this demand will also be sent to State Senator Lisa Boscola, State Rep. Marcia Hahn and the Secretary of Transportation.

Lehigh County's Crumbling Bridges Blamed on GOP Comm'rs

Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky has derided bridge repairs, part of what a county government does, as "political patter." So earlier this year, he was quite pleased to report that the Reading Road bridge, an old stone arch bridge, had been "saved" by Commissioners. They balked at the cost of replacing a bridge that had some aesthetic value. PennDOT reacted by ordering the bridge closed. At a news conference yesterday, Republicans were tagged with failing to address the County's crumbling infrastructure.

This news conference was in the middle of the day, making it impossible for me to be there. But I have statements from Democratic candidates running for Lehigh County Commissioner, along with remarks by Executive candidate Tom Muller. I will reach out to get reactions from the GOP, but want you to know what the Democrats say.

Tom Muller:  “We cannot afford to have a County Executive who does nothing when faced with failing bridges. ...  When businesses refuse to make critical investments they fail. Failure is not an option when it comes to bridges. ... I wish we could be standing here right now doing a ribbon cutting. Instead, PennDot is preparing ‘Bridge Closed’ and detour signs.”

Bill Leiner:   “Tom Creighton has a terrible record when it comes to ensuring safe bridges in Lehigh County. ... During my previous term as County Commissioner, Lehigh County established a reputation for sound and effective investment to ensure that our bridges were safe. ... Not only did Tom Creighton fail Lehigh County by neglecting the Reading Road Bridge, he failed the residents of his district by neglecting to take action on the Bittner’s Bridge in Lowhill Township. ... Lehigh County cannot afford four more years of Tom Creighton.”  Leiner pointed to Creighton’s March 14, 2012 vote against funding and subsequent non action on June 27, 2012 as evidence of Creighton’s record of neglect.

Wesley Barrett:  "What we need is a commissioner who is able to balance the interest of the people with the need to make smart decisions. Not someone with a political agenda out to score a few votes. ... Lehigh County should not be in the business of closing bridges. Now, because of this mismanagement, Lehigh County residents face not only more congested roads but have compromised the safety of our residents and specifically the families of the elementary school one block down the street. The role of government is not to play politics to win votes - it's to protect the people you server - even when that decision is challenging and sometime unpopular."

Susan Wild:  "We cannot wait until a bridge has been closed by PennDot—or worse yet, collapse—to fix our bridges. ... Lehigh County residents and business owners count on the Commissioners to maintain our bridges. My opponent cannot seem to be convinced. ... Engineering reports, warnings from county lawyers, warnings from the Director of General Services and architects calling for structural evaluations could not get Percy Dougherty to act on the Reading Road Bridge. ... It is really unfortunate that PennDot had to step in and decide to close the bridge before Percy Dougherty could even be convinced of the need for funding.”

Geoff Brace:  “In local government, there should not be a Republican way or a Democratic way to maintain bridges. ... Unfortunately, since the last election, it appears that the Republicans way to maintain bridges in Lehigh County is simply to ignore the bridges while they deteriorate. We need to return to the Lehigh County way, which is smart, strategic and responsible. ... Do not be fooled by the claim that commissioners were trying to save the bridge from demolition in an attempt to preserve the historic landmark. ... Commissioners have had since March 2012 to craft a plan that would repair the bridge to ensure its adequate preservation. They sat silently and did not act.”

Blogger's Note: Excellent photos of the bridge are on Molovinsky's blog.