Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg promotes $2.3 trillion infrastructure package in Pittsburgh

May 6—U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spent Thursday morning on a two-hour ferry ride along the Ohio River, getting an up-close look at the dilapidated bridges and aging lock-and-dam systems the region depends on.

"Beautiful structures," Buttigieg said of the McKees Rocks and West End bridges. "But you could see nets hanging just to capture pieces of concrete that could fall off of the sidewalk."

While traveling from Heinz Field to Neville Island, Buttigieg says he was alarmed to learn that the 70-year-old Emsworth Lock and Dam is in need of critical repairs.

"If they failed, or if any of the locks and dams systems along the river failed, that would effectively close the entire port of Pittsburgh, devastating the economy and the region and endangering thousands of jobs," Buttigieg said. He was accompanied on the boat ride by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Rep. Conor Lamb and PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian.

The Pittsburgh region marks a prime example of areas around the country that are poised to benefit from a major federal infrastructure infusion, Buttigieg said while recounting his river tour while speaking from an overlook along Grandview Avenue next to the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington neighborhood.

Building for the next 100 years

While Biden promoted his $2.3 million plan in Louisiana, Buttigieg said that he aimed "to feature the many ways in which Pittsburgh embodies both the challenges and the opportunities around American infrastructure."

"A century ago, the 'City of Bridges' earned its nickname because of infrastructure," Buttigieg said. "And much of that infrastructure was built to allow the workers who powered this economy to get from where they might've lived in the hills to their workplaces like the steel mills along the river.

"Now, a lot has changed. ... Pittsburgh, in addition to its phenomenal tradition and proud tradition of industry, is increasingly known for 21st Century innovation, for medical research, for education and all of the different layers of a truly modern economy," Buttigieg said. "And yet, for all that's changed, people are still relying on those same bridges to get around — which means that they are depending on infrastructure in many cases that is 100 years old."

The transportation secretary lamented that many of Pittsburgh's 446 bridges are in a "state of disrepair," with the state of Pennsylvania's 22,800 bridges ranking No. 3 in the nation in terms of being in the poorest condition.

"And the same is true across this entire country, in large cities and small communities, as well as in rural areas and on private lands," Buttigieg said. "That's why we need a generational investment to repair and modernize our nation's infrastructure."

Biden's proposal would fund upgrades for more than 10,000 bridges and more than 20,000 miles of highways and roads across the nation, along with upgrading water and sewer systems, expanding access to broadband internet, building more electric vehicle charging stations, improving affordable housing options and investing in research and technology.

"We're not just going to build back to where things were," Buttigieg said. "... We're building infrastructure that's going to make sense for the next 100 years. And to do that we need to think different. And Pittsburgh reflects that in so many ways."

Buttigieg was joined at the Mt. Washington overlook by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Port Authority CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman, Gramian, Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Casey, D-Scranton.

"The people of this region, the people of this city, did not wait for the future when they got knocked down," Casey said. "They worked, and they invented their own future. And you can see it all around you. ... It's about time the federal government did its part."

Gramian noted that separate effort is underway by the Gov. Wolf administration on state-funded infrastructure investments as a piece to the broader solution.

Earlier in the day, Buttigieg stopped by Gasoline Street Coffee Company in Downtown Pittsburgh and sat on a sofa while discussing the region's needs with Peduto, Casey, Lamb and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills. Buttigieg also spent time visiting with Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce President Matt Smith.

Smith said they talked about "why the Pittsburgh region's projects are ripe for investment and sit at the nexus of advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, addressing climate change, inclusion and innovation."

"Pittsburgh is ready to advance what's next in infrastructure — focusing on creating jobs, growing our economy and advancing our region as a globally competitive, inclusive leader," Smith said in a statement.

Bidenfirst unveiled his ambitious legislative proposal, dubbed the "American Jobs Plan," during a March 31 visit just outside Pittsburgh at the Carpenters Training Center in Collier.

Both Biden and Buttigieg spoke of urgency in getting the legislation through Congress before the end of the fiscal year.

"The clock is ticking. I mean, we really need to get this done," Buttigieg said. "I would expect the next few weeks to be a period of especially intense activity, a negotiation to see what we can do on a bipartisan basis.

"What's not an option is to do nothing, because we literally have pieces falling of bridges in Pittsburgh and everywhere else, and we just can't wait."

GOP demands scaled-back infrastructure plan

Republicans have pushed back against the size and scope of Biden's proposed package.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, expressed optimism that bipartisan consensus could be reached.

"If the president is willing to work with us, there will be more than 10 (Senate) Republicans that will work with him," Toomey said during a visit with labor and business leaders at the Steamfitters Local 449 in Pittsburgh's Duquesne Heights neighborhood.

Like many fellow Republicans, Toomey opposes the size and scope of the proposal pitched by President Biden and Democratic leaders.

They've rejected Biden's approach to pay for a slew of nontraditional infrastructure projects, such as efforts to expand access to broadband internet, the electric grid, clean water and affordable housing.

"Let's not damage the economy with a tax increase, and let's not launch a whole bunch of new programs that have nothing to do with infrastructure," Toomey said. "Where the common ground is, is actual infrastructure. It's roads and bridges and highways and airports and all of the things that we understand are infrastructure, and there is bipartisan support for that. That's the opportunity for the administration."

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Republicans are willing to spend up to $600 billion on infrastructure, far less than Biden's proposed $2.3 trillion package.

Here's a video of Buttigieg's nearly seven-minute remarks prior to taking questions from news reporters in Mt. Washington:

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter .