newjerseynewsroom.com

Overall project will cost $157.5 million

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The U.S. Transportation Department announced Thursday that it is providing $18.5 million to help finance the repair of the Delair Bridge, which carries passengers and freight trains between Philadelphia and Pennsauken.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the money will come from the popular TIGER transportation improvement program and will go to the South Jersey Port Corp.

Overall, the repair of the 4,396-foot-long steel lift bridge will cost $157.5 million with $12.5 million coming from Conrail. The bridge crosses the Delaware River near the Betsy Ross Bridge.

When repairs are completed, the bridge is expected to handle an additional 152,000 freight cars weighing as much as 286,000 pounds annually. The freight would be destined in part for the Port of Salem, Paulsboro and Camden. A strong reason for the repair work is to have the bridge ready to handle freight expected to be needed as wind energy is developed off the South Jersey coast.

Nationally, the Transportation Department is providing $511 million for 46 transportation projects in 33 states. The DOT received 848 project applications from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, requesting a total of $14.29 billion.

“The overwhelming demand for these grants clearly shows that communities across the country can’t afford to wait any longer for Congress to put Americans to work building the transportation projects that are critical to our economic future,” LaHood said.

“That’s why we’ve taken action to get these grants out the door quickly, and that is why we will continue to ask Congress to make the targeted investments we need to create jobs, repair our nation’s transportation systems, better serve the traveling public and our nation’s businesses, factories and farms, and make sure our economy continues to grow."

In November, President Obama directed the DOT to take common sense steps to expedite transportation projects by accelerating the process for review and approval and by leveraging private sector funding to promote growth and job creation. As part of that initiative, DOT accelerated the TIGER program application review process and has announced the awards before the end of 2011 instead of next spring.

The aid is awarded to transportation projects deemed to have a significant national or regional impact. Projects are chosen for their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and enhance the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The DOT also gives priority to projects that are expected to create and preserve jobs quickly and stimulate increases in economic activity.