Gov. Shapiro, Sen. Casey, And Sec. Buttigieg Announce Major Roadway Infrastructure Investment In PA

3 months ago

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sec. Pete Buttigieg announced new investments in Pennsylvania's roadway infrastructure.

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Transcript

00:00We're in the sun too. Yeah. Like we were down there at Stilton. Are we ready to begin?

00:18Good morning everyone. To Secretary Buttigieg and your team, it is an honor to have you

00:27back here so soon. Senator Casey and Governor Shapiro, it is always a pleasure hosting you

00:35for special events like this. Everyone in this city is fortunate to have you representing them

00:41and I am fortunate to be able to call you my friends. I also would like to acknowledge

00:48Senator Marty Flynn, Transportation Minority Chair, Commissioner George Hartwick,

00:54Commissioner Justin Douglas, and Commissioner Gene Foch. To everyone else, county commissioners

01:01and all distinguished guests, today marks the latest chapter in the growth of our city

01:08in Harrisburg. I have long said construction is the surest sign of progress and the expansion

01:15of the south bridge will allow Harrisburg to reach new heights. More than 125,000 vehicles

01:24cross this bridge every day. It is a lifeline that supports our economy and that of our neighbors

01:32on both sides of the Susquehanna River. Today also shows what good government is all about.

01:40This is a collaboration of multiple levels. Governor Shapiro calls it getting stuff done

01:47and that is what and why it is my honor to welcome him to the podium. Thank you. Thanks, Mayor.

01:57Thank you, Mayor. That's my mayor right there. I'm proud to be here. Spent a whole lot of time

02:03in Harrisburg and grateful for Mayor Williams' leadership and grateful that you're doing well

02:10and that you're healthy and safe. Let me say this is a good day. This is a great day for Pennsylvania

02:17and I want to begin by thanking Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is back here in the

02:24Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I think you can clap for the Secretary. I will note every time

02:31we invite the Secretary here, it's like 150 degrees. We were together in Stilton a few weeks

02:37ago, I think, and we were sweating pretty good then and we're sweating again today, but this is

02:44a joyful day for all of us and I am grateful, Mr. Secretary, that you are back here in the

02:49Commonwealth and I think I really want to begin with a public apology to Secretary Buttigieg and

02:56and also to President Biden because I have been a royal pain in their ass for the last year and a

03:03half talking about this I-83 bridge. They were sick and tired of hearing me go on and on about

03:09it, but I will tell you the Secretary listened, the President listened, and here in the Commonwealth

03:15of Pennsylvania we are better off for their leadership. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being

03:19here today. We appreciate you. Thank you. Because of the Secretary and the President being willing

03:29to listen to all of us here in Pennsylvania, especially our Senior Senator Bob Casey and our

03:35PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll, I am now thrilled to be able to announce that the United States

03:41Department of Transportation has awarded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania a half a billion

03:47dollars for the replacement of the I-83 bridge right here over the Susquehanna River.

03:56Now hear me on this. This is the largest federal grant for a single transportation project

04:04in Pennsylvania history. This is a big deal

04:11and this is a sign of just how much the President cares

04:15about this community and cares about this commonwealth. You see, replacing this aging

04:21bridge will be transformational for this region and for all Pennsylvanians. I-83, as you all know,

04:28is a vital artery here in South Central Pennsylvania that not only connects our communities

04:34on both sides of the river, it's also a critical route for commerce and supply chains up and down

04:40the east coast of the United States. We of course are joined by leaders not just from here in

04:46Harrisburg but from all across South Central Pennsylvania, showing that indeed this is

04:52critically important for all communities in this region. 125,000 vehicles drive over this bridge

05:00every single day. It connects commuters to jobs here in our state capitol and all across

05:06the region. It brings families to vitally important medical appointments and farmers produce

05:12to grocery stores. These trips, well these trips, they grow our economy, they improve our health,

05:19they strengthen our families, and they are made possible because we have safe, reliable

05:25infrastructure here in this region. Let me also make clear, because I know there's been some

05:31chatter about this, I want to be crystal clear on this, that this bridge behind me, this new bridge

05:37will not be tolled. It will not be tolled.

05:45I made that clear during my campaign. I was against tolling these bridges and I continue to

05:50be against tolling these bridges and thanks to this federal investment and the work that's going

05:55to be done here, this will be a bridge that connects families, connects commuters, connects

05:59people going to work without having to pay a toll. This bridge has been long in need of repair.

06:06It's 64 years old and it's nearing the end of its lifespan and with the Biden administration's

06:12help, we're going to replace this bridge and ensure that this vital artery continues to connect our

06:18communities and grows our economy for decades to come. Replacing this bridge is vital for the people

06:26who drive on it. It is also a critically important project for the Pennsylvania building trades and

06:31the Pennsylvania workers who I will tell you are the absolute best bridge builders in the world.

06:41This more than billion dollar project is going to mean more jobs for the great Pennsylvania

06:46workers and I'm excited that they're going to get to work soon. We have all seen the incredible work

06:52that the building trades can do when they rebuilt I-95 with Secretary Buttigieg and President Biden's

06:58help in just 12 days. 12 days. Now I have been told by Rob Baer that they may not hit 12 days but they

07:06think they can get this done in 13 or 14 days which is going to be amazing and that was a joke.

07:12Please tell Rob it was a joke. Look I think it is important to note that this is of course the

07:18largest federally funded discretionary project in Pennsylvania history. They're betting on these

07:24workers to be able to step up and do this job and they will do it well. They are believing

07:29in these communities and without the leadership of President Biden this would not be getting

07:35done. This is what happens. You can clap for President Biden. There you go.

07:42This is what happens when we have an administration in Washington

07:46that listens to the people, that understands the needs in a community and is there to deliver

07:52for us. This doesn't happen without a secretary who has been boots on the ground learning about

07:58the needs of a community and making sure we deliver for an area like this and this sure

08:04as hell wouldn't happen if we didn't have a dogged state senior senator who was willing to make this

08:11his priority. We have a senior senator who voted to make sure that billions of dollars would flow

08:18to infrastructure all across the United States and he made sure that he prioritized this I-83 bridge

08:26as one of the projects he wanted to deliver on and so I know I've been a pain in the ass to the

08:31president and the secretary over this. The senator's a whole lot more polite than I am but he has been

08:38dogged, he's been determined and he has been in the ear of this administration every step of the way

08:44to make this happen. We are grateful to have our senior senator Bob Casey on the job for us every

08:50day working hard and delivering and this is yet another example of how Senator Bob Casey has

08:56stepped up to make an impact in this region and all across the commonwealth. Ladies and gentlemen,

09:01Pennsylvania's senior senator and my friend Bob Casey.

09:09Thanks very much. Let's hear for the governor for his leadership.

09:15I'm so grateful to the governor for his leadership in seeking this funding but also on so many other

09:21projects all across the state. We're just getting warmed up in Pennsylvania. We're going to continue

09:26to fight for these dollars but governor I'm grateful for your leadership on this and on so

09:32many other issues including a long list of projects. We're honored by the presence again

09:38of secretary Buttigieg as as the governor said he's heard from us a lot and I can I can provide

09:47uh testimony to his willingness to come to Pennsylvania over and over and over again

09:55east and west north and south every every region of our state secretary Buttigieg has visited

10:01as the governor said he has listened to us and has spent quality time here to understand

10:08our priorities and our needs so Mr. Secretary we're grateful for your presence in Pennsylvania.

10:15If you spend a little more time here we might declare you a resident but we'll leave I'll

10:19leave that to someone else but I'm especially grateful for not just his leadership and his

10:24presence here as as the United States Secretary of Transportation but also for Secretary Buttigieg's

10:32efforts to get the dollars out the door to push these dollars through so we can we can make

10:38progress on these many projects so let's hear it again for Secretary Pete Buttigieg who honors us

10:44by his presence. Mayor Williams thank you for having us on your turf again and thanks for

10:50getting us started today and your leadership as mayor. I want to thank Secretary Carroll for his

10:56good work. I knew Mike Carroll a long time ago when he was in the General Assembly we're proud

11:01of the work he's doing as secretary and the dogged determination he brings to his work.

11:07Drew Simpson I'm going to introduce in a moment he's representing not only the carpenters union

11:13but I think representing the men and women of labor union labor in Pennsylvania and all that

11:19that means go ahead and clap for those men and women across the state the leadership who's here

11:26of the building trades and representing working men and women across the state we can't thank you

11:31enough and as the governor made reference to it's the best workforce the best workers in the world

11:38no question about it. Let me just tell you a little story about how this all happened

11:43way back in time just a couple of years ago I co-sponsored a bill that became the foundation

11:51of what what was later of the bridge investment program and the infrastructure bill and I think

11:57it's important to remind Pennsylvanians and Americans not just here in south central

12:02Pennsylvania but all Americans how difficult it was to get this infrastructure bill done which is

12:09the foundation of getting this as the governor said the largest discretionary investment in a

12:15transportation project in the history of the commonwealth but to get that infrastructure

12:20bill done and to take the idea that we had in the bill that I co-sponsored was difficult work

12:26I want to commend the the leadership and the determination of President Biden a lot of people

12:31don't know this he had a meeting at the White House early in his first in his first couple

12:37months in the office and it was to talk about the infrastructure bill and maybe one other issue

12:44and it was supposed it was started as a bipartisan meeting as my recollection is just Republican

12:50senators that effort collapsed after a number of weeks or a few months he had to restart the entire

12:57process to keep engaging in a bipartisan way to get the support that we needed in the senate

13:03in the house to get this done so the president's not physically here with us today but I want him

13:08to know how much we appreciate that effort and in the end we had every member of my party vote for

13:14the infrastructure bill we had a smaller number of Republicans but it was just enough or I should

13:21say a very small number but it was just enough to get this bill done but that wasn't the end of it

13:26once you get a bill done as you all know it doesn't execute or implement itself you have to

13:33have a strong commitment by the administration you have to have a strong secretary of transportation

13:38to get those dollars out the door and then you have to have a bipartisan effort here in Pennsylvania

13:44to get it done so we had a bipartisan effort the work that I did the work the governor did the work

13:50that our congressional delegation did we got a letter sent to the administration signed by every

13:58single member of our delegation I'm not sure that has happened on one project

14:04in American in in Pennsylvania history if not American history to have every member of the

14:09delegation no matter whether they represented northwestern Pennsylvania or north central

14:14Pennsylvania or Philadelphia or Pittsburgh or anywhere in between to get all of our voices

14:20coming together to support this project was essential you know what as secretary

14:26Carroll reminded me this is a Pennsylvania project it's a Pennsylvania an entire state

14:33of Pennsylvania 67 county priority and we're grateful that we're going to have

14:40an investment in a bridge project that will bring jobs a lot of good paying jobs not just now but

14:47in the future it will help us transact business move commerce keep our supply chains running

14:54so so many benefits not just to the people of Dauphin and Cumberland county and south

15:00central Pennsylvania as a region but to our entire commonwealth so this is hard work to get this done

15:07but we're damn proud of where we are getting this done to get this kind of investment and I can't

15:12tell you how much I appreciate the work that so many people here did to get to bring us to this

15:18day and look I've known Drew Simpson a long time I know of his leadership in the carpenters union

15:25but I want to make sure for today's purposes because this is a historic day I'm going to read

15:29you Drew Simpson's entire title Drew Simpson by the way he's a Scranton Pennsylvania guy so

15:36I'm giving him some extra time here but he's the regional manager of the eastern Atlantic states

15:42regional council of carpenters but that doesn't that title doesn't capture the leadership he

15:49brings to his work every day and I think his work in the work of his members and all the unions here

15:55are emblematic of the spirit of our state the spirit of the workers of our state

16:01so I give you Drew Simpson a great labor leader but also a great Pennsylvanian Drew

16:11Good morning. Before I get started I just want to acknowledge while I'm here representing

16:17the men women and apprentices of the carpenters union we have the rest of the building trades

16:21also here in the audience and it's an honor to speak in favor of and on behalf of labor

16:27in front of this very esteemed panel of speakers that we have here today. The Shapiro administration

16:32and the Biden administration both know that in order to create economic opportunity skilled

16:37labor needs to have a seat at the table. The Shapiro administration and the Biden administration

16:42have worked together to get a lot done in Pennsylvania in the last year and a half

16:46including the rebuilding a collapsed portion of I-95 in Philadelphia in just 12 days which

16:52demonstrated that government can coordinate effectively and efficiently with private

16:56contractors organized labor to deliver for Pennsylvanians. When the eyes of the nation

17:02were on Pennsylvania a proud and diverse group of organized labor worked through the rain heat

17:06and Father's Day weekend to get the job done safely and effectively to reopen I-95. Secretary

17:13Buttigieg and Governor Shapiro know the skilled labor is the best equipped to rebuild our

17:19infrastructure and they have consistently advocated for labor to have a seat at the table

17:24to continue creating real opportunity for hard-working Pennsylvanians to obtain good paying

17:29jobs. Today's announcement and the late is the latest example of the effort. After working with

17:37President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg for over a year the Shapiro administration has secured a

17:44500 million dollar award to replace the I-83 interstate bridge the largest federal transportation

17:50grant ever received in Pennsylvania as the governor has stated previously. Governor Shapiro and

17:56Secretary Carroll advocated hard for the funding and had consistent conversations with the President

18:03and Secretary Buttigieg to make this happen. Now thanks in part to this funding PennDOT will

18:10replace the I-83 bridge which connects hundreds of thousands of people where they need to go

18:14every day. This is big and labor will be involved in this process to rebuild the bridge and help

18:20make a difference in this region. Here in Pennsylvania we are proving that when local state

18:26and federal government come together and work with labor we can do big things and deliver big

18:31infrastructure wins. This also affords us and the rest of the building trades to bring in apprentices

18:38into our training centers with the language in the infrastructure bill that talks about certified

18:42apprenticeship programs. You know we all want to fill our apprenticeship ranks and we all want to

18:46fill our apprenticeship training centers and this is the perfect opportunity and the work that has

18:52been done so far and the work that will continue to be done in the state of Pennsylvania will just

18:57make sure that the opportunity for high school graduates who are not on a college career path

19:03have the opportunity to career not just a job a career where they can retire with dignity with

19:09the pension plans and the annuity plans that the building trades have to offer. So with that it is

19:15truly my honor to introduce the United States Secretary of Labor of Transportation Peter Buttigieg.

19:27Well thank you so much Drew and thanks to all of the workers that you represent.

19:32You know some see concrete and steel this administration certainly our president

19:38see good paying jobs good paying union jobs in project after project that we're funding across

19:43the country and no pressure but we know that the workers of this region along with Secretary

19:50Carroll's team at PennDOT will be delivering this on time on task on budget in a way that will

19:56continue the great and proud tradition of getting things built and getting things done here in

20:01Pennsylvania. A big thank you to Senator Casey as he said and as several have mentioned he was a big

20:10part of why any of this is possible because he joined with President Biden with our administration

20:17from day one to make the case for a historic infrastructure package. As a matter of fact

20:22one of my first trips as secretary outside of Washington was to Pittsburgh with Senator Casey

20:28when we were working to make the case for this and it's all too easy now to imagine that it couldn't

20:34have been any other way but let us remember that this bill was declared impossible and dead by

20:40commentators in and around Washington again and again and again but Senator Casey didn't give up

20:46so many members of your federal delegation didn't give up and ultimately we were in fact able to get

20:53it done. I want to thank Mayor Williams it's great to be with you again and appreciate your leadership

21:00as somebody who was also once a mayor of a proud river city that understood the importance of

21:06infrastructure. I often reflect that the job of mayor has only become more difficult and demanding

21:12since I proudly wore that title just a few years ago but I've also reflected that it sure would

21:17have been nice back when I was mayor if the President of the United States was leading a trillion

21:21dollar infrastructure package to help our cities and towns and states build so hopefully we are a

21:25wind at your back in that regard and Governor Shapiro has been an indispensable partner and

21:33leader in rebuilding America's infrastructure leading by example and showing a deep understanding

21:41of the relationship between transportation projects, workforce needs, housing affordability in

21:48ways that only a great governor can bring together and together with a number of legislators who I

21:53know are joining us have really stepped up above and beyond what many states have done to take

21:59advantage of the federal moment with a state commitment and state leadership. I also want to

22:06say a word about recent events because Governor Shapiro spoke with great moral clarity about what

22:13happened elsewhere in Pennsylvania just a few days ago a horrific and tragic incident an assassination

22:20attempt against a former American president to which there can be only one response which is an

22:28unequivocal condemnation of all forms and of political violence something that voices like

22:34Governor Shapiro like President Biden and like so many who have raised their voice from across the

22:41country and across the political spectrum to say and must continue doing no matter what swirls about

22:48our political environment and in that context it is fitting maybe that we are gathering today in

22:55the business of building bridges in this case a bridge that has long been needed something that

23:02has been brought to my attention repeatedly by your governor and others I was going to say you

23:08can take me off your speed dial but some tells me I'll be getting calls about the next imperative

23:13for transportation in this commonwealth and I would expect nothing less and this really is an

23:19example of how things should work as local state federal county everybody works in unison to

23:28deliver something important that no one party could do alone and that's part of why I think

23:34none of the folks here were shy about making the case in public and over the phone about how

23:39important this project is I want to rewind just a little bit to what it was like when we took office

23:45as we marked the worsening condition of America's bridges the number of bridges listed in poor

23:52condition around the United States and this state was an example despite real progress that had been

23:57made this need had built up over decades and people here saw the consequences of what happened

24:04when that under investment took place as I mentioned earlier visiting Pittsburgh in one

24:09of my first trips I remember seeing the netting installed under the McKees rocks bridge in

24:14Pittsburgh to catch the pieces of concrete that would fall off of it from time to time

24:19and that was something that was just tolerated in this country for far too long in Philadelphia

24:27where more than 80 bridges were in poor condition we saw a need there too but instead of just

24:32lamenting it President Biden took action and that's why I was able to go back to Philadelphia

24:37and launch a 27.5 billion dollar nationwide bridge funding program and then Pennsylvania delivered

24:44more reminders of why this is so important we all remember the shock of the images of the Fern Hollow

24:49Bridge collapsing into the bottom of a ravine over 100 feet deep and if it weren't for the providence

24:54of that being a snow day there might have been school buses driving over that bridge at that

24:58moment but with help from the infrastructure law and great leadership on the ground we're able to

25:04see that bridge rebuilt in less than a year which I thought was remarkable speed until what happened

25:11the following year when a tanker truck crash collapsed a bridge on I-95 and your governor

25:17and your DOT local leaders unions and our department and our federal highway administration

25:23worked together night and day to get it reopened after just 12 days I could keep going with examples

25:29from across the state but the bottom line is despite the progress that was made there was a

25:33clear need for bridge repairs to overcome the decades of underinvestment from Washington and

25:40nowhere is that need greater than the I-83 South Bridge right here in Harrisburg over 125,000

25:46vehicles cross that bridge every day commuters from the area travelers from the region trucks

25:53from across the country a regional study found this bridge to be and I quote the area's most

25:58important crossing on the region's most vital corridor but I'm sure most people you talk to

26:04in the area wouldn't need a study to tell them just how important this is they know from daily

26:08experience vehicles of a certain weight are already prohibited on this bridge after an inspection

26:13downgraded its status to poor condition it's very possible there could be further weight restrictions

26:19and more lane closures needed to keep people safe now local leaders identified the needs here over

26:2520 years ago the fact that so many bridges like this one were allowed to fall into this condition

26:30was a failure of Washington the consequence of a lot of talk including a lot of infrastructure

26:35weeks coming and going without any real action talk does not build bridges funding does partnership

26:43does teamwork does unions and the skilled workers they bring to the table and they bring to the site

26:48that's how America builds bridges and the leaders you see here and our president are delivering and

26:54that's why it's such a delight to be here on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration

26:59to announce the award of 500 million dollars to build a new South Bridge for I-83.

27:05It's going to meet the safety and mobility needs of Pennsylvania today and for many years to come

27:15it's got improved widths merges ramps a better design that we estimate will lead to 117 fewer

27:21crashes every single year reduced congestion is projected to save drivers 538 million hours in

27:29their cars and truck drivers 66 million hours over the lifetime of this bridge and that brings

27:34me to another important benefit here which is improved supply chains so many of the goods that

27:39Americans count on move through the Keystone State up to the northeast down to the south

27:44east to west over 400 million dollars worth of goods cross this I-83 South Bridge every day

27:51in fact I remember back when I was mayor of South Bend we proudly told economic development people

27:55you know we have the the location that can get you to the most households in a 24-hour radius right

28:01here in South Bend except of course for Harrisburg Pennsylvania that's how nationally recognized the

28:07logistical significance of this location is so when a bridge like this gets to be a bottleneck or worse

28:12if it has to close or get limited in an emergency the consequences will be felt by people who've

28:17never driven on I-83 and couldn't find this bridge on a map it still affects them and by the same

28:24token when our freight networks and bridges are in good shape and projects are moving efficiently

28:29and affordably that contributes to lower costs for American families and businesses it's all part

28:36of an all hands on deck effort that President Biden has led to fight the inflation that COVID

28:41unleashed in our economy the hard work to bring inflation down to three percent faster than almost

28:47any other peer country included a focus on supply chains as well as taking on corporations on price

28:54gouging and junk fees as well as taking on big pharma and capping insulin at 35 dollars a month

28:59for seniors there's a lot more to do but this is a huge step forward and we will continue advancing

29:05hundreds of projects to benefit supply chains across the country there are now already thousands

29:12fewer bridges on that list of bridges in poor condition than there were when President Biden

29:17arrived and today this is part of a round of five billion dollars going out to rebuild or repair 13

29:23major bridges of national significance from the I-5 bridge between Oregon and Washington

29:28to the I-10 mobile river bridge in Alabama to so many more and this is part of a bigger picture

29:36that goes even beyond surface transportation I'll be at the port of Long Beach tomorrow

29:39for the groundbreaking of on-dock rail that'll significantly increase the movement of goods

29:44through America's busiest port bottom line is that America's infrastructure is finally getting better

29:50rather than worse and my greatest message about all of these projects the 54,000 projects and

29:58accounting that are getting support through the president's leadership and through this legislation

30:02is that not a single one of them was invented developed or designed at the U.S. Department of

30:07Transportation headquarters in Navy Yard in Washington D.C. every one of them came from a

30:12community a county a state looking for a better design we have never believed that all the ideas

30:18were going to come from Washington but we have always believed that more of the funding

30:22should and now at last it is so congratulations to this community to Pennsylvania to everybody

30:28who's going to be part of this great project

30:32and with that I believe we have time for some questions from the podium

30:35my colleague Kate will quarterback that process

30:39raise your hand if you're with the media if you would like to ask a question we'll start right

30:42here with Seth. Governor Shapiro I realize thankfully we'll never have to know the answer

30:47but if this money hadn't come this bridge was going to get reconstructed somehow someday

30:54what were Pennsylvanians facing that they never faced? We worked closely with the Biden

31:01administration to prioritize this bridge they heard us loud and clear they prioritized it and

31:06they're sending the largest federal infrastructure grant in the history of the commonwealth of

31:11Pennsylvania to get this done we couldn't be more grateful and we're just excited to finish this

31:16press conference so these guys can get to work fixing that bridge. In terms of taxes what would

31:22it have taken to get it done? I'm not going to engage in these hypotheticals we asked the Biden

31:27administration and Secretary Buttigieg to step up for us that's exactly what they did and the

31:32good people of Pennsylvania and the taxpayers of Pennsylvania are better off because of our

31:37federal partners like President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg and let's not lose sight of the fact

31:42that we've got a senior senator who went to work to make sure that this bill passed that there were

31:48dollars available for bridges like the I-83 bridge we're in a community right now where we got a

31:54senator that stepped up and a congressman who refused to go along to try to fund this bridge

32:00so I know who I can rely on in Washington D.C. Senator Casey, President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg

32:06to step up and look out for the good people of Pennsylvania and the taxpayers here are the

32:11beneficiaries of it. Thank you. Okay we're gonna go to Marshall there. Governor Shapiro what's the timetable for the

32:18completion of this project what sort of effort will this take and do you anticipate congestion

32:24while work is going on? So the bridge will be under construction I'm Mike Carroll the PennDOT

32:28secretary in 2026. The traffic lanes will be maintained during the construction to minimize

32:34the effects on traffic we expect to deliver the project in two to three years.

32:41This is probably a question for Mike can you talk about what this like the actual construction is

32:47going to look like you say the traffic lanes are going to be maintained but what what is it going

32:51to actually look like because I know there's work already happening on 83 right now I think a lot

32:56of people want to know what this is actually going to look like as it's in progress.

33:00So the new structure will be constructed south of the existing structure

33:04and after that is completed the existing bridge will be removed and then additional bridging will

33:11be completed to constitute the entire I-83 and then the ultimate removal of the existing bridge

33:17but it's important to note that traffic will be maintained during the construction to minimize

33:22the effects on users of the bridge on a daily basis. We're out of the motor license fund

33:28remaining 500 million dollars because of the BIL and President Biden's Secretary

33:32Buttigieg and then the balance out of the Pennsylvania Motor License Fund. Yes.

33:40Governor Shapiro, Mayor Williams, I understand there's a large homeless encampment near 5-3.

33:45How will this project impact that encampment?

33:48How will this project impact that encampment?

33:55We're meeting bi-weekly with Governor Shapiro's staff as well as Dauphin County Commissioner's

34:00staff as well as our non-profit organizations to make sure that we put in a plan that those

34:07unhoused will not become vacant in in the spot that you had indicated. We work every day with

34:15the non-profit organization Our Deli Bread. We are using the ARPA money to give them additional

34:21funding that they can have 24-hour services as well as churches, Christian Churches United.

34:26They are also going to house some of those individuals who are now at that encampment

34:31and they each will be dividing the ARPA money that we have from the federal government.

34:40Either Senator Casey or Governor Shapiro, President Biden's been mentioned many times

34:44in this press conference yet at this moment there's a group of lawmakers at the federal level

34:49who want to delay the virtual poll to nominate him.

34:54Can one of you speak about your feelings on that push to delay it?

34:59I think for for purposes of this press conference I'll leave that

35:03analysis of that political analysis to the pundits.

35:07Senator Casey, you work with J.D. Vance in the Senate. A lot of Republicans are saying that

35:13he is going to boost Trump's numbers here in Pennsylvania. Can you speak to that a little bit?

35:17If you want to ask questions like that we'll do it away from this podium.

35:23Thanks everybody.

35:37you

Gov. Shapiro, Sen. Casey, And Sec. Buttigieg Announce Major Roadway Infrastructure Investment In PA

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