Union's sign campaign takes aim at poor bridges

A billboard campaign that starts today will try to spur federal and state lawmakers into increasing funding for transportation and infrastructure projects.

The Laborers' International Union of North America is paying for a dozen billboards, all placed near structurally deficient bridges, advising drivers that they are crossing, or just crossed, a substandard bridge.

The signs urge motorists to call U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Arlen Specter or a toll-free number for state lawmakers in support of increasing spending on roads and bridges.

"We think the bridges are a really good conversation starter. People can understand the economic and safety issues of an unsafe bridge," union spokesman David Miller said.

"We don't mean to alarm people, but this is a very serious issue that needs a lot more attention," he said.

The union didn't have to scour the landscape for places to post the signs. More than 400 of the 1,566 state and locally owned bridges in Allegheny County -- about 28 percent -- are rated structurally deficient.

Pennsylvania leads the U.S. with about 5,600 structurally deficient bridges -- about a quarter of the bridges in the state.

Long-term transportation funding has been stalled in Washington and Harrisburg.

Congress is more than a year late in enacting a new six-year transportation authorization measure. The state Legislature has done nothing to address a $472 million funding shortfall caused by Pennsylvania's failure to win federal approval to impose tolls on Interstate 80.

In both places, lawmakers have been averse to raising taxes or fees to increase spending on roads and bridges, despite numerous studies that say the nation's infrastructure is falling into deep disrepair.

A state advisory panel said this year that Pennsylvania's transportation system "is in a state of crisis" and will require $3.5 billion a year to catch up.

The American Society of Civil Engineers said the estimated cost of bringing the nation's infrastructure into good repair has risen by 69 percent to $2.2 trillion since 2001.

The problem is not limited to roads and bridges. Water and sewer systems, dams and levees, schools, aviation infrastructure and mass transit also need attention, the ASCE said in its most recent Report Card for America's Infrastructure.

The union's involvement in the campaign is driven by a thirst for jobs. Mr. Miller said unemployment in the U.S. construction industry is at 17 percent, with 1.5 million people out of work.

"We're at rock bottom right now and there are no signs of it going up," he said.

"Our state's bridges are falling apart and our roads are among the most congested in the country. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania has lost 45,000 construction jobs since 2008," said Philip Ameris, president and business manager of the Laborers' District Council of Western Pennsylvania, in announcing the advertising campaign.

"Men and women want to go to work building Pennsylvania, and there's plenty of work to be done. We need our leaders here and in Washington to invest in our future and create jobs now."

Billboards also have gone up in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland and Kentucky.

Billboard images and locations are displayed at www.BuildPennsylvania2010.org.

Jon Schmitz: jschmitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1868. Visit "The Roundabout," the Post-Gazette's transportation blog, at post-gazette.com.

First published on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 am