Rep. Lee, Rep. Deluzio Helps Bring Back Historic Investment from Infrastructure Bill to Western Pennsylvania

Rep. Lee, Rep. Deluzio Helps Bring Back Historic Investment from Infrastructure Bill to Western Pennsylvania

“These investments will go a long way in building a green energy future with infrastructure that actually meets the needs of our communities” says Lee

(Washington, DC) – Today, on the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law)–Rep. Summer Lee released the following statement on the record $9.65 billion in investments brought back to Western Pennsylvania.

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is one crucial component in ensuring we build an economy that meets the needs of the 21st century. The investments made in Western Pennsylvania will go a long way in building a green energy future with infrastructure that actually meets the needs of our communities” said Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12). “I came to Congress to represent the left-behind communities of Pittsburgh, and Westmoreland County that have far too often been left out of large infrastructure projects. The $9.65 billion that I have helped bring into the district, including to build improvements to our airports and transit infrastructure, will be crucial to ensure the people of Western Pennsylvania can have freedom of movement while also ensuring that we remain a hub in building the economy of the future.”

Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17) said: “We are finally rebuilding this country’s lousy infrastructure thanks to President Biden’s Infrastructure Law. That means shovels in the ground, union jobs, and a heck of a lot of investment to make life better for folks in Western Pennsylvania: major improvements to our roads, bridges, locks and dams, and more.”

“Politicians have been promising to rebuild our roads and bridges for decades, but President Biden is the guy who worked with everybody and got it done,” said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny Fayette Labor Council. “Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law is why thousands of people in Western Pennsylvania are working good jobs today building the infrastructure we need to be safe and for our economy to be competitive. This is what investing in the American people looks like.”

A few of the projects the IIJA is supporting in the Pittsburgh region:

In southwestern Pennsylvania, the infrastructure law has already obligated funds for 243 different projects through a cumulative $1.4 billion in public investment. In Pittsburgh, these projects mean more convenient trips to the airport, safer drinking water, new roads and bridges, and improved public health and safety made possible through the reclamation of abandoned gas and oil wells. 

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT): PIT was allocated $20 million from the for its Terminal Modernization Program. The project’s construction surpassed its halfway mark this summer. Upon completion, it will consolidate the airport’s terminals into one 700,000-square-foot complex, combining ticketing, security checkpoints, and baggage claim into one facility. The airport will also have further improvements, including a new rental car and parking garage multi-modal complex. 

Cleaner Drinking Water: The IIJA is funding multiple projects across the state, all geared towards ensuring communities have access to uncontaminated water. In Pittsburgh, this includes improvements to wastewater management and the replacement of lead pipes. With the help of infrastructure law funds, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is on track to replace 100% of lead service lines by 2026.

Stronger Supply Chains: The Montgomery Locks and Dam were initially built in the mid-1930s and have undergone routine maintenance and repairs have created significant bottlenecks. Now, with IIJA funding, the Montgomery Locks and Dam will have larger chambers with more reliable, sustainable, and efficient navigation on the upper Ohio River.

Bridge and Tunnel Repairs: Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in January 2022. But thanks to the IIJA and Pittsburgh’s strong workforce springing to action, the bridge reopened before Christmas, just 11 months after it collapsed. More than $100 million has been designated for dozens of highway and bridge projects in Allegheny County alone, including the rehabilitation of the Armstrong tunnels, the I-79 Neville Island bridge project, and the expansion of Route 28 which improved 27 bridges over 10 miles.

Plugging Abandoned Oil Wells: Orphaned oil and gas wells are rampant across southwest Pennsylvania. After being stranded by fossil fuel extraction companies, these wells are left to continue producing methane and groundwater pollution, endangering public health and the environment. The IIJA is providing states with resources to reclaim these orphaned wells and create good-paying jobs in doing so. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to date, at least 9 orphaned wells have been plugged in Allegheny County, with dozens more plugged across the region. Another roughly 50 well reclamation projects are currently underway.

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Since taking office in January, Lee, who serves on the House Oversight Committee and Space, Science and Technology Committee, has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $870 million brought back to Western PA, including over $200 million for infrastructure, over $50 million for affordable transit, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 1,330 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.