PennDOT gets $700,000 federal grant to extend life of road surfaces

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has received a $700,000 competitive grant from the Federal Highway Administration to put a special treatment on concrete and asphalt roads to extend the life of the surfaces.

But because the application for the funds is more than two years old, the state will have to work with federal officials to identify new projects for the treatment.

The grant was among 10 worth $8.8 million announced Tuesday under the FHWA’s Accelerated Innovation Deployment Demonstration program. That program encourages states to use innovative tools and technology to improve transportation projects across the country.

This round of grants, though, was based on applications submitted in 2021, when the agency received so many requests it couldn’t fill them all. It saved the applications for awards in future years.

In its application, PennDOT had identified specific projects in five of its maintenance districts across the state to use the money, but as a result of the delay those projects already have moved forward, said PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell.

“Because the projects initially cited by the FHWA had already begun when funding was announced, PennDOT will now work with FHWA to put these funds to good use in other projects, which will be determined soon,” Campbell said.

The concept involves using a treatment of what’s called stone matrix asphalt and highly modified asphalt on top of the regular road surface. In addition to extending the life of concrete and asphalt, the surface treatment also should reduce the need for maintenance, increase skid resistance, improve resiliency in flood-prone areas and reduce noise.

Since the program began in 2014, the FHWA has awarded 127 grants worth more than $95.7 million.

“Innovation is essential for the future of transportation infrastructure, and this grant will help the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation improve safety and extend the life of roads for the traveling public,” FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in a news release. “The grants, along with additional funding from the president’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will bring more innovations to America’s road, highway and bridge projects.”