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Pittsburgh City Council

Paving becomes the quickest way to use up unspent pandemic aid.

Written by Amy Whipple

With three months of the year remaining, the city may pour its remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding onto the streets.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requested council’s approval to transfer $346,683 that had been previously set aside for streetlights and mobile toilet projects into the paving budget. 

This brings the total amount of ARPA funds allocated for street resurfacing to $32.2 million. 

Rea Price, acting director for OMB, said during the Sept. 23 committee meeting that ARPA funds must be completely spent — not just set aside for pending or in-progress projects — before the end of 2026. Any remaining money would likely have to be returned to the federal government. 

Reallocations, however, must go to previously approved projects. “The only way that we can quickly get these funds out of the door is basically by moving anything unspent to paving,” said Price.

She said she expects to amend allocations at least one more time before the end of the year. Price has also notified project stakeholders that any money that is unspent by the end of September would likely be directed toward paving. She did not have an estimate for how much that would be.

Council agreed to move forward with the transfers.

Connections to this story

Governments:
Pittsburgh City Council
Public meetings:
City Council · September 22, 2026
Sources:
Resolution 2026-0897 — amending Resolution 214 of 2026, which reappropriated federal American Rescue Plan funding, by updating the approved…Resolution 2026-0898 — further amending Resolution No. 857 of 2023, effective December 27, 2023, as amended, entitled "Resolution adopting and…Resolution 2026-0899 — further amending Resolution No. 886 of 2021, effective December 27, 2021, as amended, entitled “Resolution adopting and…

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