Matt Smith and Darrin Kelly: Invest in transportation and infrastructure for Pittsburgh region's post-covid-19 future

As work continues in Washington, D.C., on future phases of the federal response to the pandemic, we are coming together — business and labor — to urge strong support for a robust transportation and infrastructure package.

With unemployment heading to previously unimaginable levels and every country in a race to be the first to emerge with a strong economy on the other side of the public health emergency, investment in infrastructure — including public transit and all multimodal aspects — is one that brings high dividends in job creation, economic development and quality of life.

The dire state of our nation’s infrastructure has been noted in many studies. For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s infrastructure a D+ in its latest Infrastructure Report Card. Closer to home, although Pennsylvania took a big step forward with Act 89 in 2013, our infrastructure remains funded below the level that is adequate to just support existing capacity.

Federal action on infrastructure in Washington will have many positive impacts here in our region and, in many ways, our community is a perfect example of the importance of this investment.

For example, at Pittsburgh International Airport, we have a project that could be a model for a post-pandemic world of air travel with our Terminal Modernization Program. In addition, our region’s inland waterways system, including the network of locks and dams, is vital for both our economy and quality of life.

Pittsburgh is the fourth busiest inland port and the 23rd busiest port of any kind in the nation handling about 32 million tons of cargo. Each lock on the Monongahela and Ohio rivers handles approximately 9,000 barges per year. Locks and dams are vital for navigation, recreation, flood control and drinking water. Funding for this infrastructure is critical to our future.

Another area where federal policymakers should prioritize funding is for public transit. Public transit across the nation has experienced a drastic drop in revenue since the economic shutdown began. The Pittsburgh region’s public transit operations, the largest of which is the Port Authority of Allegheny County, provide critical connectivity to jobs, opportunity, school and other critical functions of life. These transit systems, quite literally, are lifelines to individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits and merit support to make it through the emergency and emerge stronger after it.

The support must be robust, smart and future-focused, unlocking our potential for transformative and innovative projects that can propel our region forward. Let’s build projects and create connections that 75 years from now our children and grandchildren still talk about.

Right here in our backyard, we have the potential to be a global leader in new modes of transportation and the systems that will allow smart city technology to be deployed and utilized to make our commutes better and easier and make the flow of commerce more efficient.

Unprecedented times require unprecedented solutions. The business and labor communities appreciate the scale of the investment required.

But when you compare the cost of action to the cost of inaction, we believe that the best path to create jobs and economic development, make our nation and region more competitive with the rest of the world, and emerge stronger from the pandemic is to make generational investments in infrastructure and transportation. It is crucial that any stimulus package include significant funding for our nation’s infrastructure.

Matt Smith is president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, an Allegheny Conference affiliate. Darrin Kelly is president of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.