County Airport, Railway Aided through PennDOT

by Jonathan Weaver

Armstrong County’s airport in South Buffalo Township will be another step closer to opening again after received state aid.

Announced yesterday, South Buffalo Township’s McVille Airport will receive $200,000 to go toward the construction of a new hanger.

Governor Tom Corbett announced that the overall $3.4 million state investment toward safety and operations at 20 Pennsylvania airports will support more than 8,400 jobs.

“Aviation, just as Pennsylvania’s other transportation assets, supports
Jobs and strengthens our state economy,” Gov. Corbett said in a news release. “These investments position these airports to offer better service and generate additional business activity.”

The state funding – $3.4 million from PennDOT’s aviation development program – comes from the state’s jet fuel tax and leverages $1.5 million in local matching funds. The program complements the new Multimodal Fund, created by
Act 89, which dedicates $6 million to aviation in this fiscal year alone.

McVille Airport, a privately-owned strip of land that covers about 100 acres of land, has been closed since 2007 to allow for strip mining, but has received state aid regularly to keep the land up-to-date: including nearly $94,000 in aid to purchase snow removal equipment in July 2013.

About $622,500 was given to improve the airfield fuel facility and continue runway construction with navigation lighting installation in summer 2012 as well as even more grant funding the year before to repave runways.

In November, Gov. Corbett signed Act 89, a far-reaching transportation program that clears the way for significant investments in all transportation assets.

“Providing transportation options is vital to moving goods and people,” Gov.
Corbett said. “That’s why we’ve invested $50 million in aviation since
January 2011, and Act 89 will help us build on that progress.”

Public-use airports in the state are eligible for the aviation development program. Airports eligible for the federal block grant program include: general aviation airports, designated reliever airports, and non-primary commercial service airports (those with fewer than 10,000 annual passengers) that are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.

Other regional counties that benefit from this summer’s grant funding include: the Butler Farm Show Airport ($60,000) to install an access gate and fencing in Butler County, Ebensburg Airport ($200,000) and John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria Airport ($150,000) in Cambria County to rehabilitate hangers and airport pavement and Greenville Municipal Airport ($18,170) and Grove City Regional Airport ($262,500) in Mercer County to acquire maintenance equipment and for the second phase of fuel-facility improvement, respectively.
While the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has aided the aviation industry, it is also investing in the state’s railways.

Nearly 40 rail freight improvement projects were approved for funding from two PennDOT-managed problems, as was announced late last week.

“Transportation is a proven economic driver and these investments will help these companies maintain and create more jobs,’’ Gov. Corbett said. “Ensuring that these facilities and assets are ready to meet consumer demands is vital to keeping our state competitive.”

The State Transportation Commission (STC) voted Thursday to approve nearly $35.9 million for 13 projects through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP) and 26 projects through the Rail Freight Assistance Program (RFAP).

RTAP is a capital budget grant program funded with bonds and RFAP Is underwritten through the new Multimodal Fund, created by Act 89.

The local RTAP Project includes along the Buffalo Pittsburgh Railroad in Armstrong, Butler and Lawrence counties.

$2 million is to be spent between Kittanning and New Castle for restoration of the Chewton siding, providing 9,000 feet of additional siding capacity, to restore the Mosgrove West siding, providing 2,400 feet of additional siding capacity and to complete other rail and switch work.
Five other regional railways will be aided in Allegheny County, including more than $2.6 million to rehabilitate the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company’s 36th Street bridge (increasing its weight capacity and reducing a curve on the bridge), and to realign track, construct 4,460 feet of new track and — $489,636 to replace a turnout, crossties, 8,960 feet of rail and make other track improvements.

Other Allegheny County projects including $1.9 million to construct a rail siding at the U.S. Steel Corp. Clairton Yard, install track panels and four new turnouts in Clairton Works, install track panels and three new turnouts at the Edgar Thomson Works, and install cross ties, track panels and two new prefabricated turnouts at the Irvin Works.

Just over the Kiskiminetas River in Westmoreland County, $1.5 million in State aid will go toward the Industrial Development Corporation for the second of three phases for an improvement project, replacing 3.2 miles of rail and associated work and nearly $230,000 to Lehigh Specialty Melting, Inc. to reconstruct 850 feet of outside track and 200 feet of track inside the forge shop and associated engineering.

1 Comment

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  By jorn jensen, August 24, 2014 @ 12:31 PM

  A lot of tax money poured into McVille airport - when will we see a benefit from it?

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