On Thursday, April 14, 2016 the Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) hosted their 2016 State of Transportation Spring Breakfast.  Over 120 engineers, planners, municipal officials and university representatives attend the breakfast to hear Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary of Planning, James D. Ritzman, P.E. and SEPTA’s General Manager, Jeffrey D. Knueppel, P.E.  The guest speakers discussed the advancement in projects and transportation initiatives spurred from the ACT 89 Transportation Bill that was signed by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in November 2013.

Although it was signed into office almost three years ago, House Bill 1060 is still Pennsylvania’s most comprehensive piece of state transportation legislation in decades. This legislation invests an additional $2.3 to $2.4 billion into transportation up to five years.  Since the Bill was signed, TMACC has hosted a State of Transportation Breakfast to promote project awareness created from ACT 89 funding, encourage transparency from PennDOT and to provide a space for discussion between the public and officials.  

PA State Rep. Becky Corbin (R-Chester) who was an advocate for the ACT 89 Bill was in attendance and thankful for the opportunity to hear updates from SEPTA and PennDOT, “I wouldn’t miss this event.”

First to speak was PennDOT Deputy Secretary of Planning, James D. Ritzman, P.E.  Ritzman discussed the benefits of ACT 89 including the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project that has now pulled PA from the title of the “State with the most Structurally Deficient Bridges in the US”.  “We’re now second in the country, and rapidly working our way down the list.” Ritzman stated.

Jeffrey D. Knueppel laid out SEPTA’s plans to stabilize and improve service that ACT 89 funding has made possible  “We have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of improvements in the system out there all moving forward.  ACT 89 has made an unbelievable difference for SEPTA.”  Updates included parking improvements and high level platforms for the Malvern Train Station; additional parking, high level platforms and a station building for the Exton Train Station; and Paoli Train Station ADA accessible improvements with the plans of a parking garage later.  

TMACC Executive Director, P. Timothy Phelps, provided a brief update on Chester County PennDOT District 6 projects.  Major news Phelps announced was the completion date for US 202 construction in Chester County that has been ongoing since 2000.  All roadway construction on US 202 is planned be completed by August of this year.

To celebrate and promote Air Quality Awareness Month in May, TMACC and it’s partners, DVRPC, presented the 2016 Air Quality Excellence Award to two organizations.  Erin Burke, DVRPC’s Manager of Marketing and Commuter services, presented the award to both Johnson Matthey, Inc. and West Chester University for their positive actions to reduce air pollution and protect public health.  

To learn more about TMACC and upcoming events, visit www.tmacc.org.  To follow updates from TMACC follow them on Facebook and Twitter.