Budget Cuts Could Spell Trouble for Montgomery Lock from the Beaver Times 
"The triggering of automatic budget cuts in Washington known as sequestration could have dangerous consequences for the Montgomery Locks in Beaver County, which could topple without much-needed maintenance, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official. Colonel Bernard Lindstrom, the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, told a meeting of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission last week that it is likely the corps will have to defer maintenance to the region’s 23 locks and dams, which are among the oldest in the nation."

Potholes: Health Indicators of the City Streets (Emily DeMarco) from Public Source [from November]
"As the time it takes to fill potholes climbs, so does the continuing degradation to Pittsburgh’s 1,000 miles of streets. The health of its streets already is compromised because of the city’s age, weather, topography and budget."

State Announces Grants for Projects in Pittsburgh from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Three high-profile Pittsburgh projects are among 54 statewide that have been awarded state redevelopment capital assistance grants totaling $124.7 million by the Corbett administration. The Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority will receive a $5 million grant to help cover the cost of installing water, storm and sanitary sewers and other infrastructure in preparation for the redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site for housing and offices. The SEA had requested $15 million to help fund the estimated $40 million it needs for that work."

Infrastructure OK'd for Buncher Co. Project from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The board of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority approved an infrastructure proposal by Buncher Co. in the Strip District."

Ready for Takeoff? Fracking at Pittsburgh Airport Could be Reality by '14 from the Allegheny Front
"Less than a day after a raucous meeting over plans to drill at Pittsburgh International Airport, the airport’s governing body gave its imprimatur to a plan. The Allegheny County Airport Authority approved the plan to lease gas drilling rights to Consol Energy, in a plan that would net the airport upwards of $500 million over the next 20 years."

Heinz Endowments Gives Grant to Promote Water Control Technology from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"The Heinz Endowments gave $31,000 to encourage municipalities to incorporate green technology into their plans to prevent sanitary sewers from overflowing during storms. Announcement of the grant Thursday came days after the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority asked federal authorities to allow it 18 months to consider adding green infrastructure to its $2 billion plan to prevent excessive rain from entering sewers."

Governor Touts Private Funding of Transportation from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The governor told an audience of local officials and businesspeople that the private sector knows its infrastructure needs and -- as evidenced by the $40 million project, mostly backed by business, to connect a planned commercial park with a major road -- will foot the bill."

EDITORIAL!!

Action on Roads: Finally, the Governor is Ready to Make a Decision from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"As a way to fund road, bridge and transit repairs, Gov. Corbett appears ready to ask the Legislature to lift the cap on the state's oil tax."

Corbett to Roll Out Billion-Dollar Roads Plan from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Gov. Tom Corbett is preparing to unveil a transportation plan funded primarily by nearly $2 billion a year in new taxes on gas stations, two people who learned details of the plan told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The Republican governor, who pledged not to raise taxes when he ran for office, will announce the fine points of the long-awaited initiative next week, the two people told the AP on the condition they not be identified because the governor hadn‘t publicly disclosed the plan."

Independence Township Breathes New Life into Park Project from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"Independence Township supervisors revisited the creation of a town park that has been on the back burner for almost four decades. The board heard representatives from Pashek Associates pitch their services during a meeting Wednesday night."

Decaying Infrastructure Costing Families $3,100 a Year, Engineers Warn from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A leading organization of engineering professionals issued another warning Tuesday about the condition of the nation's infrastructure, saying that current investment trends threaten millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic activity."

Post-Gazette Series Pt. 5

Industry Drawn Again to Pittsburgh by Resources that Once Supported Steel Mills from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
""It's paradoxical that the area is ripe for a resurgence precisely because of the legacy industrial infrastructure," said David N. Taylor, president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association."

Blasting Under Way at Locks and Dam No. 4 from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"Workers began blasting a section of the old upstream guard wall Wednesday at Locks and Dam No. 4 along the Monongahela River in Charleroi as part of the construction of a new river chamber."

$9.6 Million Later, Point State Park's Restored Fountain to Spout on June 7 from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"After decades of on-again, off-again function, the signature fountain in Point State Park will leap back into operation."

PERSPECTIVE!!

Doctor, to Speak at Commonwealth Awards, Wants to Make Cities Walkable Again from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"For the past 12 years, Dr. Jackson has met a lot of urban planners and is speaking the language of the most progressive among them, the so-called New Urbanism, which is really the old urbanism -- a return to walkable realms that are designed and built for the human body, not the human body in a car."

Marcellus Pushes Boom in Regional Short Line Rail Traffic from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"At Allegheny Valley Railroad’s Glenwood Yard in Hazelwood, train tracks laid in the heyday of steel and steam trains are being straightened, strengthened and spaced out for the age of Marcellus shale."

Allegheny County Out $1 Million in State Money for Public Works Projects from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Allegheny County lost out on more than $1 million in state money for two public works projects because the county began construction before PennDOT gave final approval, officials confirmed Tuesday. ... “It’s unacceptable that we didn’t have systems in place to obtain all the money that this county is entitled to, and I hold people responsible for that,” McKain said."

Allegheny County to Use Gambling Funds to Repair Landslides from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Crescent and East Pittsburgh each will receive $200,000 from a state tax on casinos to help repair landslide damage to roads in their communities."

Commission Close to Announcing Funding for Beltway Corridor from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"A state lawmaker claims the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is close to announcing a funding source to begin construction of a long-stalled Southern Beltway toll road corridor linking Southpointe to Pittsburgh International Airport."

Boston Company Considers Hydropower for Pittsburgh Area Dams from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"A Boston energy company has applied to federal regulators to install hydropower on four dams in the Pittsburgh area. Prompted by tax incentives for renewable energy, Free Flow Power is one of several companies interested in installing power on the dams."