Casey comes to Washington to talk about infrastructure
Flanked by construction equipment being used to repair a bridge over Catfish Creek, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey came to Washington on Friday morning to talk about federal infrastructure spending and how it is benefiting communities in the region and throughout Pennsylvania.
“We’re here to celebrate, but not to slow down,” Casey said in the parking lot of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation on West Wheeling Street. “We want to continue to invest in the people of Washington County.”
The visit highlighted the federal investment in three bridges in the county – the bridge over Catfish Creek, a bridge on Valley Road over Brush Run in Cecil and Chartiers townships, and a span on North Hewitt Avenue in Canton Township over Georges Run. Work on the bridge in Canton has already been completed. A little more than $1 million in federal money was earmarked for each bridge to upgrade them, and all three were designated as being in poor condition beforehand.
The $3.6 million overall that is being spent on the three bridges is a sliver of the $1 trillion infrastructure package that became law last year. It includes $110 billion for roads and bridges, along with money for railroads, the power grid, broadband, airports and more.
“No state government in the country, no county government in the country can support their own long-term infrastructure,” Casey said. “The federal government has to be a full partner and it hasn’t been until recently. … The people of Washington County have waited a long time for these kinds of investments.”
Casey was joined by Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan, Washington Mayor Scott Putnam and Mike Carroll, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Irey Vaughan said that because of the federal money, work on the bridges was moved up by two years.
The bridgework will “help assure that transportation in the county will become safer, faster and more efficient,” Irey Vaughan said.
Casey’s visit to Washington came at a time of turmoil in the Washington where he spends more of his time. A shutdown of the federal government is looking more and more likely because of infighting within the Republican caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. If a deal is not reached by Oct. 1, all federal workers who have not been deemed essential will be furloughed from their jobs and many of the functions of the federal government will grind to a halt. The senator, a Democrat, said that the odds of a shutdown happening are “much higher than they were a few weeks ago.”
Casey explained that a shutdown would be “terribly damaging for the economy, whether it’s people here in Washington County or anywhere in the country. No one wins when there’s a shutdown. So I hope they can start acting like adults in the House and get the job done and keep the government functioning.”
Also looming over the horizon is the 2024 election, and it looks like Casey’s Republican opponent as he seeks a fourth term in the Senate will be Republican David McCormick, the former hedge fund CEO who narrowly lost a bid to become the GOP Senate nominee last year. McCormick made his candidacy official on Thursday night, and no other high-profile Republicans have jumped into the race.
The senator also said he is feeling well after a prostate cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
“I was really lucky,” he said.