Buttigieg pushes for rail safety, touts infrastructure bill in Pittsburgh visit

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Pittsburgh on Friday to tout funding for improvement projects along the Parkway East corridor, part of the Biden Administration’s signature infrastructure funding effort.

He also called for enhanced regulations ahead of the first anniversary on Feb. 3 of the East Palestine train derailment.

Buttigieg attended a town hall at Carnegie Mellon University before holding a press conference with local elected leaders in Swissvale to celebrate the $142 million in federal funds earmarked for the region.

That money will be used to upgrade the East Busway and Interstate 376, along with other projects.

Buttigieg lauded the passage of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and said it is making needed transportation improvements possible in Pittsburgh.

“Now you are getting the results, and that is not a small accomplishment,” he said to a crowd of supporters at the Swissvale Busway Station.

Buttigieg was welcomed by a group of Democratic politicians: Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, and U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio of Aspinwall and Summer Lee of Swissvale.

Lee said the projects will support 2,500 union jobs and inject $2.55 million in economic activity into the region. They should also help to lower congestion and improve travel for drivers and public transit users, she added.

The $142 million will go towards rehabilitating 10 bridges along the I-376 corridor; building a ramp connecting the Parkway East and Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway to allow buses to run along shoulders of the interstate; and covering costs of a new wall in Downtown Pittsburgh to fix problems in a portion of the Parkway East known as “the bathtub,” which is prone to flooding.

“We know the Parkway East can be a pain, but think about all the people that will save time because of this funding,” Lee said.

Buttigieg noted that Pittsburgh was the first region President Joe Biden visited to lobby for increased infrastructure spending. Biden also came to the city to tout the infrastructure bill on Jan. 28, 2022 mere hours after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed.

The transportation secretary praised Allegheny County’s political delegation for advocating tirelessly for infrastructure projects, which he said were selected from a competitive pool of applications.

“We wouldn’t be here today without the work of this delegation,” Buttigieg said, noting that there are currently 40,000 infrastructure projects in the pipeline across the nation.

Buttigieg and local Democrats used the visit as a bit of a victory lap for projects funded by the infrastructure law, as well as to push for more of their political priorities.

At town hall event earlier Friday with students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, Buttigieg promoted the Biden administration’s efforts to address transportation issues.

He said he was proud of the jump in air travel following the pandemic, signs of a decrease in road deaths after a recent peak, the progress on upgrades at Pittsburgh International Airport, and increased testing, rules and regulations in rail safety following the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

Buttigieg said the transportation department also recently finalized a rule to ensure that rail workers have breathing apparatus available and ensured minimum crew sizes on large trains.

When speaking with reporters later in Swissvale, Buttigieg said regulation and transparency in the railroad industry needs to be increased. He advocated for the Railway Safety Act, which would create new safety requirements for trains, increase communication between rail companies and states, and require hazardous cargo to be properly classified.

“This is one more test where common sense will prevail, or where the railroad industry lobby will prevail,” Buttigieg said. “We are going to do things within the authority we have, but we need an expansion of those authorities.”

Deluzio is a prime sponsor of the Railway Safety Act in the Republican-led U.S. House. He said Republican leadership is not bringing the bill up despite support from a bipartisan coalition.

He accused Republican leadership of having too cozy a relationship with the railroad companies and halting progress on the regulations.

“We can’t trust the railroads to regulate themselves,” Deluzio said. “They have shown that while they are tremendously profitable, they are not investing in protecting communities like ours. They need the rules to change.”