Harrisburg City Council Passes Resolution Calling For Safety Of Oil Trains

Lancaster County officials aren’t the only ones expressing concern over oil trains passing through communities along the Susquehanna River.

Harrisburg City Council Tuesday night passed a resolution that urges Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve the designs of rail cars that carry explosive crude oil across the country and through populated areas.

The resolution also urged rail companies to replace their fleet of oil tank cars with improved models. And the measure asked the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to help local emergency responders better prepare for the possibility of an oil-train accident.

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/harrisburg-city-council-passes-resolution-calling-for-safety-of-oil/article_9b630868-e376-11e4-b6a8-3f5ea18bf998.html

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport Gets Funds To Aid In Attracting Carriers

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PITTSTON TWP. — For the second time in 11 years, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is the recipient of a federal grant to entice airlines to offer new destinations or to increase the number of flights to current destinations.

The $575,000 federal Small Community Air Service Development grant will be used to encourage airlines to add flights to business and leisure destinations that are among the most requested by passengers.

Airport Director Barry J. Centini said that on the leisure side, he will look to add Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as destinations. For business travelers, Pittsburgh and Washington are the targets.

Those destinations seem to be the ones many customers request or wind up taking connecting flights to get to when they embark from the local airport. He said the funds also could be used to entice airlines already operating out of Avoca to add additional flights to current destinations such as Atlanta.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1208151/Airport-gets-funds-to-aid-in-attracting-carriers

Railroad Ups Estimate Of Oil Spilled In Vandergrift Derailment

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Westmoreland County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Norfolk Southern Railroad officials say four of the derailed tanker cars in Vandergrift leaked more than 3,500 gallons of crude oil.

Initial reports Thursday said only about 1,000 gallons had leaked from one tanker.

David Pidgeon, Norfolk Southern spokesman, estimated that between 3,500 and 4,500 gallons of viscous “heavy” crude oil leaked from four tanker cars after the derailment. Pidgeon said most of the oil ended up in an MSI Corp. parking lot. None of it made it into the Kiski River.

In Thursday’s cold temperatures, the oil congealed soon after hitting the snow and workers were removing the oil and contaminated soil for proper disposal.

Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/5596923-74/railroad-oil-norfolk#ixzz2tKEFEJyM
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Startup Airline Has Its Eye On Pittsburgh

FAA Airport Diagram of KPIT (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another startup airline trying to get off the ground has its sights set on Pittsburgh.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based City Link Air has talked to local officials about starting service from Pittsburgh International Airport, perhaps even seeing it as a potential focus city.

“They’re a startup looking for opportunities around the country. Like we talk to a lot of others, we talk to them,” said Bradley D. Penrod, president and chief strategy officer for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International.

Mr. Penrod characterized the dealings with City Link as “an early discussion. They’ve approached us and they’ve given us a presentation,” he said.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2013/11/12/Startup-airline-has-its-eye-on-Pittsburgh/stories/201311120077#ixzz2rzvFE9SE

Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Area Roads Among Bottom Third In Mid-Sized Cities Nationally

Locator map of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area in the northeastern part of the of . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A national research group ranked the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area’s roads among the bottom third of the nation’s mid-sized cities.

More specifically, TRIP ranked both cities and the surrounding suburban areas 17th worst among 62 urban regions with populations between 250,000 and 500,000.

Thirty-two percent of the region’s roads are “in poor condition and provide a rough ride,” according to the report that TRIP released Thursday.

The average motorist in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area pays $539 annually in vehicle maintenance costs related to the substandard roads, which TRIP ranked 18th nationally.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/scranton-wilkes-barre-area-roads-among-bottom-third-in-mid-sized-cities-nationally-1.1563220

Costs Associated With May 9 Tanker Truck Fire Increased To $13 Million

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Dauphin County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has upped its estimate of the cost to repair damage caused by a May 9 tanker truck fire in Susquehanna Twp.

But, not by much.

District 8 spokesman Greg Penny said the original estimate was $10 million.

That has been increased to $12 million-$13 million.  The original estimate did not include reconstruction costs because it was not known at the time.

G.A. & F.C. Wagman Inc., of York was the low bidder for the reconstruction at $3.3 million.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/06/costs_associated_with_may_9_ta.html#incart_m-rpt-1