by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
On Monday, March 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced its investment of $467.2 million in liquid fuels payments to help municipalities across the Commonwealth maintain their roads and bridges.
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) and the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (PSAB) join PennDOT in this announcement on critical funding Monday. The annual distributions assist with municipalities’ highway and bridge-related expenses, such as snow removal and road repaving.
“Our roads and bridges are vital to connecting Pennsylvanians with services and opportunity,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Investments in municipal roads and bridges are a critical component in maintaining safe and connected communities.”
The allocation formula is based on population and miles of locally owned roads. To be eligible, a roadway must be formally adopted as a public street by the municipality, meet certain dimension requirements, and be able to safely accommodate vehicles driving at least 15 mph.
There are 120,596 miles of public roads in Pennsylvania. Some 2,559 municipalities manage an estimated 78,000 linear miles of roadway and more than 6,600 bridges longer than 20 feet.
“With two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s road miles under township and local government care, we recognize the critical role of liquid fuels funding in maintaining our roadways. We appreciate PennDOT’s recognition of local government as a vital partner in the Commonwealth’s transportation network,” said PSATS Executive Director David Sanko. “However, as energy-efficient vehicles and electric cars gain prominence, these funds are being reduced. We eagerly anticipate a continuing partnership with PennDOT and the General Assembly to find innovative solutions, ensuring our roads remain smooth, safe, and ready for the journeys ahead.”
“The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs commends the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for recognizing borough governments as important partners of the statewide transportation network. These liquid fuels allocations are an essential funding component for preserving this vast network of locally maintained roads, which are so vital to the continued economic viability of this Commonwealth,” said PSAB Executive Director Chris Cap. “Borough communities across Pennsylvania will continue to maintain our portion of the local transportation network, and we highly value our exceptional partnership with PennDOT.”
Act 89 of 2013 made more funding available for locally owned roadways. Before Act 89, municipalities received $320.8 million in liquid fuels payments.
In addition to PennDOT’s annual liquid fuels distribution and various grant opportunities, local officials can act on several options available to them to help improve locally owned infrastructure. For example, counties can implement a $5 fee for each vehicle registered to an address within the county and use the funds on locally owned infrastructure. To date, 27 counties have implemented this fee. From December 2015 through December 2023, $256.3 million has been collected and distributed to the respective counties.
Additionally, local governments and other eligible entities may apply for low-interest loans from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank, which helps fund and accelerate transportation projects as well as spur economic development.
For the complete list of municipal liquid fuels payments, visit PennDOT’s Municipal Liquid Fuels Program page.
