Last week state officials announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has committed $500.7 million in liquid fuels payments to help certified municipalities maintain their roads and bridges.

            "Pennsylvania has the fifth-largest state-maintained road system in the country, and the locally owned network is even larger" Transportation Secretary Leslie S. Richards was quoted as saying in a PennDOT press release.

            This year's distribution is a $11.7 million, or 2.4 percent, increase over the $489 million distributed last year.  Act 89 of 2013 made more funding available for locally owned roadways. Before the law, municipalities received $320.8 million in liquid fuels payments.

            Act 89, also known as the Transportation Bill, was signed into law in 2013 by Governor Tom Corbett to fund road projects, bridge repairs, and public transit.

            Act 89 switched up the formula for generating revenue. It eliminated the $0.12 per gallon state retail gas and diesel tax, but raised how much can be collected by the Oil Company Franchise Tax (OCFT), a wholesale tax on gasoline and diesel distributors. The wholesale price of fuels the OCFT has been capped at $1.25 since 1983. 

            Wholesalers could then pass on their increased tax burden to retailers and ultimately drivers could end up paying the difference.

            Act 89 also increased vehicle registration and driver licensing fees.  Additionally, some traffic violation fines rose. 

            PennDOT's annual distributions assist with municipalities' highway and bridge-related expenses such as snow removal and road repaving. There are 120,039 miles of public roads in Pennsylvania. There are 72,992 miles owned by municipalities and eligible for liquid fuels. The formula for payments is based on a municipality's population and miles of locally-owned roads.

            To be eligible for liquid fuels, a roadway must be formally adopted as a public street by the municipality, meet certain dimension requirements, and be able to safely accommodate vehicles driving at least 15 mph.

            Many municipalities have agreements with PennDOT to perform required bridge inspections for them.  The municipality's share of those costs is deducted from the Gross Allocation. 

            Each year, a municipality may use 20% of their net allocation for the purchase of major equipment.

            Municipalities in the Town and Country readership area and their gross allocation are as follows:  Berks County – Hereford Twp., $114,760, Washington Twp. 188,428; Bally borough, $37,125; Bechtelsville borough, $26,285; and Boyertown borough, $117,349.

            In Bucks County: Milford Twp., $448,112; Richland Twp., $432,234; Perkasie borough, $256,391; Quakertown borough, $245,790; Sellersville borough, $116,268; and Trumbauersville, borough, $23,245. 

            In Lehigh County: Lower Milford Twp., $244,747; Upper Milford Twp., $319,729; Emmaus borough, $349,811; and Macungie borough, $84,224.

            In Montgomery County: Lower Frederick Twp. $174,601; Lower Salford Twp., $558,456; Marlborough Twp., $134,467; New Hanover Twp. $426,018; Salford Twp., $139,945; Upper Frederick Twp., $122,882; Upper Hanover Twp., $312,773; Upper Salford Twp., $138,327; East Greenville borough, $77,374; Green Lane borough, $16,255; Pennsburg borough, $102,400; Red Hill borough, $73,622; Schwenksville borough, $36,903; Souderton borough, $184,469; and Telford borough, $135,236.

            For the complete list of local payments, visit the "Municipal Liquid Fuels Program" page at www.penndot.gov under the "Doing Business" Local Government page.