Construction of the new $1.4 billion terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport is not only good for travelers but also necessary for the Biden administration’s infrastructure program to be successful, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday.
Buttigieg was at the construction site with first lady Jill Biden, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and local officials to tout the workforce training program that is part of the airport project. In a private interview with Pittsburgh Union Progress, Buttigieg praised the apprenticeship program that is part of the airport project.
“We can’t leave any talent on the table,” Buttigieg said. “This infrastructure program is going to test our production capacity. We’ve got to make sure we have enough workers in place to get everything done.”
Without additional construction workers, Buttigieg said, the $1 trillion infrastructure program won’t be successful. The apprenticeships, some of which are federally funded, also create family-sustaining jobs to rebuild the middle class, he said.
“This job creation is a great ladder to the middle class,” he said. “These are good-paying jobs that can lift whole families.”
The new terminal, which has received a $23.5 million grant through the Department of Transportation’s Airport Terminals Program, also will meet another of the administration’s goals: The 700,000-square-foot facility will be a completely self-sustaining and green operation when it opens in early 2025.
“That’s an initiative we support,” the secretary said.
In remarks prepared for her airport stop, Biden referenced Pittsburgh “being one of five cities in what we are calling the Biden Workforce Hub Initiative.
“Here, that means thousands of jobs strengthening and rebuilding Pennsylvania’s infrastructure — including modernizing Pittsburgh’s airport, where we’re standing right now. But in order to keep this progress going, employers need more skilled workers.
“So, the Biden-Harris administration is working with Mayor [Ed] Gainey, Partner4Work, colleges, unions and employers to develop new training pathways to the good careers created by those public and private investments.
“And employers and local leaders are expanding access to child care here on-site for pre-apprentices, apprentices and workers, so they can pursue the careers they want without having to worry about finding care for their kids.”
She noted that it’s all part of making “a way to build the lives we want.”
In other areas, Buttigieg said his department is “proud” it could deliver a $150 million grant to help with construction of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit system between Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland. The $295 million project will begin construction Downtown early next year to create exclusive bus lanes between the two job centers that will help them avoid traffic congestion.
“Transit is so often the safest, most efficient and cleanest form of transportation,” he said. “Even people who don’t use it benefit because there is less congestion on our roadways.”
Nationally, Buttigieg said he is encouraged that traffic deaths that spiked during the pandemic appear to be leveling off. The department developed a National Roadway Safety Strategy in early 2022 after deaths reached the highest level since federal officials began collecting statistics in 1975.
“We have a long way to go before we can declare victory,” he said. “It looks like it might be leveling off, and that’s a good first step, but we still have a long way to go.”
The Union Progress’ Jon Moss contributed.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.