Standing by the captain's wheel as the Gateway Clipper’s “Princess” headed down the Ohio River towards the Emsworth Locks and Dam, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg took a long look around.
“You’re seeing all our supply chains, all around you,” Buttigieg said.
The boat trip, during which Buttigieg heard from representatives from the Port of Pittsburgh Commission and local businesses about their hopes for transportation in the region, was one part of a multi-stop visit on Friday.
The visit was Buttigieg’s last in his role as Secretary, with the transition to President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration looming later this month. He spent much of the day touting projects the Department of Transportation had helped facilitate over the past four years.
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.
During an interview with WESA, he touted the over $500 billion in infrastructure spending already awarded nationwide by the Biden administration, and said he was concerned about any discussion of congressional Republicans cutting infrastructure funding.
“If there's anything we've learned, it's that these projects are needed, and frankly, there's more need where this came from,” he said. “I hope that there is bipartisan support to keep that going.”
Boats, trains and steel
While on the Princess, Buttigieg and local industry officials discussed the Marine Highway Program. Run by the federal Department of Transportation, the program encourages the transportation of goods and materials on the country’s rivers.
The Ohio River has been part of Marine Highway M70 for years, but the Monongahela and Allegheny did not become Marine Highway M79 until 2023 — after an approval signed by Buttigieg.
The Port of Pittsburgh hopes to secure funding through the Marine Highway program, according to marketing and program manager Scott Harshman.
“When you look at a business along the Mon or the Allegheny River that needs to improve their docks, that needs to make that connection, that has an opportunity to bring in new business, a $500,000 or a $1 million grant…can be very helpful,” he said.
According to the Department of Transportation, around 2 million tons of metallurgical coal — used in steel making — is transported annually on the M79 river system. But as the region transitions away from coal, Buttigieg and river officials see the Marine Highway program as a way to encourage other goods and industries to use the rivers.
“This part of the country is always going to be a place that is good at making things. Some of the details might change, the shapes of the industries might change. But what's not going to change is that we need supply chains that can move goods efficiently and affordably,” Buttigieg said. “Our inland river system is one of the best ways to do that that people don't think about.”
The Marine Highway program’s goal is to reduce pollution and help take traffic from land highways. Buttigieg said he hopes it will boost use of Pittsburgh’s rivers to carry goods — “whether we're talking about aggregate that's going to go into roads being built, steel that's going to go into bridges or so many other things that we count on this system for.”
Buttigieg took Pittsburgh’s light rail from Allegheny Station, talked with Pittsburgh Regional Transit CEO Katharine Kelleman and Congresswoman Summer Lee, and greeted construction workers at work at the Steel Plaza station. He then spoke to union members at the United Steelworkers headquarters downtown.
He praised the planning timetable of the ongoing T construction projects. In an interview, he said the country still has a “long way to go” on making sure infrastructure money gets spent more quickly.
“I hope that this is an area of bipartisan interest, because we've got to get better value for the dollars that go into it,” he said, noting that finding the necessary dollars often slows the completion of infrastructure projects.
“Assembling all of the different pieces of funding becomes too drawn out of a process,” he said. “By having the historic funds that we have now in the Biden infrastructure package, we've been able to make a real difference on that."
When it comes to his own political road ahead, Buttigieg said he “doesn’t know” whether Pittsburgh should expect to see him back for a 2028 Presidential run. He said he sees “a long list of chores in the garage and a lot more time with our son and daughter” in his future.
“I'm looking forward to taking a beat, having some perspective on all the work we've done, and then I'll figure out how to make myself useful,” he said.
The next head of the Department of Transportation will be taking up what Buttigieg considers “the best job in the federal government, with an extraordinary team,” he said.
“It's a daunting responsibility, but also one of the most rewarding things you can get to work on,” he said. “For the rest of our lives, those of us who've worked in transportation get to see the fruits of our labor. And as someone in public service, it's all you could ask for.”
