An overwhelming majority of Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce members believe there is a transportation crisis in Pennsylvania and were supportive of legislation to increase infrastructure funding.
The county chamber surveyed its members online about the state of transportation in Pennsylvania and printed the results in the October 2013 Chamber Communicator. It was also in The Republican-Herald that same month.
A month later, the state passed legislation providing another $2.3 billion to improve Pennsylvania's highways, bridges and mass-transit systems. The additional money comes from higher gasoline taxes and numerous motorist fees. The higher gasoline taxes went into effect Jan. 1.
"State legislators said they were not sure if businesses were on board," Robert S. Carl Jr., Schuylkill Chamber executive director, said.
Survey results were then sent to the local legislators for their consideration before voting on the legislation.
"It came back with overwhelming answers," Carl said. "We thought it was a very strong validation."
According to the roll call on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website, Sen. David Argall was the only state legislator from Schuylkill County voting in favor of the proposal. State reps. Mike Tobash, R-125; Neal Goodman, D-123; and Jerry Knowles, R-124, voted against the bill.
"There was no question the senate and Sen. Dave Argall, R-29, were doing the right thing in passing that legislation," Carl said.
There were 10 questions on the survey, plus space for any additional comments. The number of responses to questions on the survey ranged from 110 to 115.
The first question asked if the respondents believed there was a crisis in Pennsylvania, whether it be roads, bridges or mass transit.
Ninety of the 115 answers, or about 78 percent, answered yes. Only four, or about 3 percent, answered no. Eighteen, or about 16 percent, said there was a crisis with all three areas. Three people did not answer.
Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation in the number of bridges with 25,000 state-owned structures, but first in those that need repair with nearly 4,500 considered structurally deficient by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Nearly a third of the 500 bridges in Schuylkill County are structurally deficient. Of the 343 state-owned bridges, 83 need repair. The remaining 157 are owned by either the county or municipality, and 81 of them are structurally deficient.
Last August, PennDOT announced new or increased weight restrictions on about 1,000 state and local bridges in an attempt to extend their life spans. New or increased limits were placed on 11 state-owned and 26 locally owned bridges in Schuylkill County.
Asked if they believe deteriorating roads and bridges will dramatically affect the economic climate of Pennsylvania, 106, nearly 95 percent, answered yes. Only six said no.
Of those surveyed, 92 people said there is a need to enhance revenue, including lifting the cap on the oil franchise tax and other transit fees and fine adjustments.
With the gradual elimination of the cap over the next five years as part of the legislation, the Transportation Advisory Commission estimated the price of gas will increase 28.5 cents per gallon by the time the cap is fully lifted. That will only partially be offset by the elimination of the 12 cents per gallon liquid fuels tax.
"Nobody wants any kind of tax increase, but at the end of the day you look at Pennsylvania roads and bridges deteriorating every day and the only way to address this issue was through that transportation bill," Carl said. "Businesses overwhelmingly say that we understand we have to pay a price to serve these commerce needs in Pennsylvania. They realize that there is a price to pay and if not, there are only more problems and the costs increase."
Due to the daily fluctuation of gas prices, Carl said most people have not even noticed the tax that went into effect Jan. 1.
"Gas prices move every day and every week. Supply and demand move gas prices each day," Carl said.
Business leaders agree
Jay L. Newswanger, president of R&J Transportation Inc., Cressona, said a higher gas tax means consumers will be paying more for anything being transported, but the infrastructure needs to be repaired.
R&J Transportation company provides busing for Blue Mountain Area, Schuylkill Haven Area and Nativity BVM schools as well as for all the private schools in Schuylkill County. The company also provides motor coach and charter tours.
"In reality, it hurts us because we supply fuel," Newswanger said. "On the back side, if you want the roads fixed, someone has to pay for it."
Asked if they believe that not addressing the problem now will only escalate costs down the road and destine roads and bridges to be impossible to fix, 103, nearly 94 percent of the respondents answered yes. Only seven said no.
"There is no question about it, they needed to find someway to help the infrastructure," Thomas F. Koons, president and chief operating officer of Northeast Prestressed Products LLC, Cressona, said.
Before the legislation was passed, the concrete-beam building company held a press conference at its facility to discuss problems with roads and bridges and encourage local representatives to pass the transportation bill.
"I think now is the time to address it because from an economic standpoint, it was hurting Pennsylvania to not have good infrastructure," Koons said. "Businesses need a good infrastructure to survive."
Koons said his company has had to reroute deliveries many times because local bridges could not support the weight of the shipment.
"We send the bids out thinking we can use something, then all of a sudden there's an inspection and it determines that the bridge is not capable of crossing," Koons said, noting it can take about 12 to 18 months before a delivery ships out. "Then you have to find alternate ways of getting there and in some cases it can be expensive."
Koons said that has been the case for the last three or four years.
"Numerous other companies had to be rerouted around Reading, costing both the consumer and the company," he said.
Evans Delivery Co. in Schuylkill Haven has faced similar problems.
"Locally, you can see the road closures," Kim Lorimer, vice president and director of safety and compliance at the company, said. "We see a lot of issues from our driver reports. A lot of bridges our drivers can't go over and they are being rerouted. It definitely increases the fuel consumption. People have to find alternative routes and it adds to mileage and time. Time and money is going to cost customers and public in the long run."
Lorimer said local roads and bridges need to be repaired, even if it means higher gas taxes.
"The roads are deteriorating so much that it's a necessary evil that has to happen," Lorimer said. "They are going to cause so much wear and tear on vehicles and trucks, ultimately it is going to cost (the drivers) either way. I think they have put it off for so long, it is just in a state of deterioration and it's just reached the point where it has to be done."
More infrastructure projects will also create more job opportunities, Koons said.
"I think that will be good for Pennsylvania from a construction and jobs standpoint," Koons said. "Not one contractor can do all that work so it is going to be a lot of contractors in Pennsylvania coming together to do the work."
The last question in the survey asked members if the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce should be involved in these issues. Ninety-eight percent said yes.
"I think it is very important for the chamber to voice the opinions of all the businesses it serves," Lorimer said.