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January 13, 2025ICYMI: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Celebrates Multi-Modal Investments, Innovation, and Record Job Creation in Pittsburgh
WASHINGTON — On Friday, January 10, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured multiple forms of transportation and celebrated American workers in Pittsburgh on one of final trips as Transportation Secretary — a city where he made one of his first stops in the role in 2021.
Throughout his tenure at DOT, Secretary Buttigieg oversaw the largest investments in our nation’s infrastructure in generations made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In Pittsburgh, he saw how these generational investments are strengthening transportation systems and improving everyday life for western Pennsylvanians.
Secretary Buttigieg began his morning with a boat ride along the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers, all part of DOT’s Marine Highway program. Secretary Buttigieg designated the Allegheny and Mon. as Marine Highways in August 2023, dedicating resources that allow the rivers to move goods more quickly, strengthen supply chains, and improve local economies. During the boat ride, the Secretary heard from local business owners whose industries along the river benefit from the Marine Highway and received an update on progress on the Emsworth Locks Rehabilitation Project, a project that has received millions of dollars through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Secretary then joined U.S. Congresswoman Summer Lee for a ride on the Pittsburgh Regional Transit light rail system. During the ride, he received an update on ongoing PRT projects, including the Downtown-Upland-Oakland East End Bus Rapid Transit project funded with $150 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
After the light rail ride, Secretary Buttigieg stopped by United Steelworkers Headquarters to meet with USW leadership, tour the USW museum, and celebrate the work being done on infrastructure projects across the country by America’s skilled trades workers. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, more than 16 million new jobs have been created, including 1.6 million construction and manufacturing jobs.
The Secretary then joined students and faculty at a research lab at Carnegie Mellon University to hear about research and innovation in the transportation industry, including automated vehicle technology and improvements in transportation safety.
Before his departure, Secretary Buttigieg toured Pittsburgh International Airport’s Terminal Modernization Project. The TMP project is receiving millions in federal funding to modernize the Pittsburgh airport and improve the passenger experience for all air travelers.
See below to see what they’re saying about the Secretary’s visit:
Pittsburgh Union-Progress: Transportation Secretary Buttigieg nears end to his post where he started
“For his final local tour in the cabinet position, Buttigieg had the ultimate Pittsburgh transportation day: He rode a Gateway Clipper boat down the Ohio River to hear about lock conditions, took the subway four stops to learn about plinth, talked up infrastructure accomplishments with United Steelworkers members, watched demonstrations of Carnegie Mellon University transportation research at Hazelwood Green, and toured construction of the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport. Maybe the only thing missing was a trip up Mount Washington on the Monongahela Incline.”
WESA (Pittsburgh Public Radio): On visit to Pittsburgh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg looks at road ahead
“The legacy of Buttigieg’s time at the wheel leading DOT was a common theme of his visits throughout the day. During a speech before officials and members of the United Steelworkers at their headquarters downtown, Buttigieg said the Biden administration was “leaving the condition of American infrastructure much better than we found it.
“While this administration is coming to a close, the work that we have launched will be generating good jobs, good livelihoods and good outcomes for years and years to come,” he said.”
KDKA (CBS): Buttigieg visits Pittsburgh as one of his last acts as transportation secretary
“Some of those federal dollars are used on projects like this in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh on improvements for the light-rail system. Even with the change in administrations coming up, Pittsburgh Regional Transit said federal dollars are always needed for its projects.
With less than two weeks left in the Biden-Harris administration, Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg wanted to see how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is being used in the area. Pittsburgh was one of the first stops Buttigieg made when he was getting support for the bill.”
Tribune Live: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours Pittsburgh International Airport’s new landside terminal
“It was important for us to have Pittsburgh be one of the last places I travel to in an official capacity because there’s so many examples here of what’s going on through President Biden’s infrastructure package,” Buttigieg told reporters from inside the new terminal, standing under 4,000 individual lights that adorn the ceiling, reminiscent of constellations.
His sweep through the region…. finished with a 15-minute walk-through of Pittsburgh International Airport, where exterior construction on the new terminal is complete and crews continue to work on the interior.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pete Buttigieg Visits Pittsburgh Region to Examine Infrastructure Improvements
Pittsburgh Business Journal: Transportation Secretary Buttigieg visits Pittsburgh, discusses autonomous vehicle regulation