Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch has increased weight restrictions on about 1,000 bridges statewide, citing the stalled transportation funding bill before the legislature.
The new limits will take effect Thursday.
Reducing the weight traveling on the bridges, said Schoch, will slow down their deterioration while funding repairs remains uncertain.
Gov. Tom Corbett’s $2.5 billion transportation bill passed the Senate 45-5 but got stalled in the House before lawmakers wrapped up their session on June 30. The legislature is expected to take up the matter in the fall.
The funding package would have ranged from bridge repair to transit systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to funding a part of Amtrak’s Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg service, the latter a federal requirement.
“It’s across all modes,” Schoch told reporters at the time.
According to Schoch, even if the legislature passes a funding plan in the fall, the earliest the weight restrictions could be removed would be when repairs can be programmed for funding within two years. If conditions warrant, the restrictions could remain until the state makes the repairs, said Schoch.
Details about weight restrictions are on the department’s website.
