As we approach the 2012 elections, there is a lot of talk about the need for job creation within the commonwealth.
Unemployment in Pennsylvania has been above 8 percent for more than three years.
The transportation sector of our economy has also been struggling over these same three years.
Pennsylvania has more than 117,000 miles of public roads and more than 40,000 bridges that need normal maintenance and occasional upgrades. This maintenance work is essential if we intend to maintain our quality of life, and the jobs created by this work cannot be outsourced.
The workers who perform the highway maintenance work and their families live here in Pennsylvania.
In August 2011, the governor's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission issued a report that outlined the steps that need to be taken to begin to correct the problems that are associated with our decaying infrastructure, a true long-term comprehensive solution.
The establishment and the upkeep of a transportation infrastructure is a core responsibility of the government. Our quality of life and our safe travel are directly influenced by the government's investment in transportation.
It is time for the governor to act on the advice of his own commission and take the lead on the long-term comprehensive funding initiatives recommended in the commission's report.
Once we have this comprehensive solution in place, real job creation in the commonwealth will occur.
The time for action is now.
Geoffrey W. Clarke, Vice President, Construction
New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. Inc.
New Enterprise
