BETHLEHEM, Pa. — More than a third of the Lehigh Valley's local roads are in poor condition, as are 15% of the region's bridges, according to a new study released by a national nonprofit group.
The findings are part of a statewide report released Thursday by TRIP, an advocacy group funded by the construction industry.
Local roads in Lehigh and Northampton counties are in worse condition than the state as a whole, the report found. Bridges in Lehigh County are in slightly worse condition than the state as a whole while Northampton County's bridges are slightly better.
Overall, Pennsylvania has seen its infrastructure conditions improve in the past few years, said Rocky Moretti, director of policy and research at TRIP. In the past, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma jockeyed for the ignoble distinction of ranking worst in local bridge conditions, he said. But Pennsylvania had shed that reputation thanks to some aggressive planning, he said.
The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by then-President Joe Biden boosted funding for transportation projects across the country, and Pennsylvania adopted a unique private-public partnership under Gov. Tom Wolf that allowed many of the state's small bridges to get needed repairs.
"I think that under the weight of tremendous inflation, that's really started to impact their ability to make further progress."Rocky Moretti, TRIP's director of policy and research
But those gains are starting to slip as Pennsylvania and other governments wrestle with high inflation. Prices across the construction industry have increased by 52% since 2022, Moretti said.
"We start to see that [progress] stalling a bit. I think that under the weight of tremendous inflation, that's really started to impact their ability to make further progress," he said.
Thanks in part to a funding shortage, Pennsylvania has shifted its attention to roads and bridges that are part of the national highway system, such as interstates and importation state highways, Moretti said.
But the local transportation network is still a critical element, carrying 44% of all travel, 94% of road miles and 75% of bridges, he said.
Traffic safety on local roads is also far worse than on the federal highway system, the report found. Between 2019 and 2023, 3,391 people were killed in traffic crashes on local roads across Pennsylvania. That amounted to 58% of road fatalities over that time period.
Local roads are primarily the responsibility of municipal governments. However, many struggle to keep up with the maintenance of their roads and bridges and increasingly are looking to state and federal officials for assistance, Moretti said.
When you factor in how much more traffic the national system carries, the statistics get even worse. TRIP found that the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles on local roads in Pennsylvania was 80 percent higher than the fatality rate on all other roads in the state.
Moretti and other panelists in a virtual news conference said it was more of a call to action than advocating for specific solutions.
Robert Carl Jr., with the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, said that he also recognized the importance of funding public transit. Lawmakers are currently debating Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposal to shift sales tax funding to better fund transit authorities such as LANTA and SEPTA.
Local Road and Bridge Conditions
PENNSYLVANIA
- Miles in poor condition — 8,659 | Percentage in poor condition — 26%
- Miles in fair condition — 7,561 | Percentage in fair condition — 23%
- Miles in good condition — 9,833 | Percentage in good condition — 30%
- Miles in excellent condition — 7,246 | Percentage in excellent condition — 22%
- Bridges in poor condition — 3,370 | Percentage in poor condition —14%
- Bridges in fair condition — 12,865 | Percentage in fair condition — 52%
- Bridges in good condition — 8,642 | Percentage in good condition — 35%
LEHIGH COUNTY
- Miles in poor condition — 139 | Percentage in poor condition — 35%
- Miles in fair condition — 110 | Percentage in fair condition — 28%
- Miles in good condition — 122 | Percentage in good condition — 31%
- Miles in excellent condition — 29 | Percentage in excellent condition — 7%
- Bridges in poor condition — 55 | Percentage in poor condition — 17%
- Bridges in fair condition — 182 | Percentage in poor condition — 56%
- Bridges in good condition — 87 | Percentage in good condition — 27%
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY
- Miles in poor condition — 129 | Percentage in poor condition — 33%
- Miles in fair condition — 98 | Percentage in fair condition — 25%
- Miles in good condition — 123 | Percentage in good condition — 31%
- Miles in excellent condition — 45 | Percentage in excellent condition — 11%
- Bridges in poor condition — 42 | Percentage in poor condition — 13%
- Bridges in fair condition — 181 | Percentage in fair condition — 55%
- Bridges in good condition —107 | Percentage in good condition — 32%
