CRESSONA, Pa. – Standing on the site where parts for the state’s newest bridges will be fabricated, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Leslie S. Richards yesterday announced that construction on the Rapid Bridge Replacement Program, a public-private partnership (P3) with Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP), is starting this month.
Through the project, the PWKP team will replace 558 bridges across the state within 36 months. The commonwealth retains ownership of the bridges, but the team is responsible for maintaining each bridge for 25 years after its replacement.
“Part of the responsibility of a government that works is keeping people moving safely, but also efficiently,” Richards said. “This project will deliver high-quality bridges with as little disruption to the public as possible, now and for decades in the future.”
The 58 bridges scheduled to be replaced this year are located in the southwestern, north central and northeast regions of the state. Construction is accelerated in part through the use of prefabricated components assembled at the construction site.
“PennDOT is always looking at new ways to improve how we do business, and doing as much work as we can before impacting the traveling public will continue to be a focus,” Richards said.
PWKP will manage bridge design, construction and maintenance under the contract. The team is responsible for financing the effort and PennDOT will make performance-based payments based on the contractor’s adherence to the contract terms. PennDOT will be responsible for routine maintenance, such as snow plowing and debris removal.
As construction starts, the contractor team will provide status updates through the project website, www.PARapidBridges.com. The team will also announce public meetings during which individual bridge plans will be detailed. PennDOT encourages interested individuals, businesses and other interested parties to attend these meetings.
PWKP consists of the Plenary Group, The Walsh Group, Granite Construction Company and HDR Engineering. Walsh and HDR maintain offices in Pennsylvania.
Throughout the project, PWKP will announce bidding opportunities on its website and through outreach events to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) community. In their proposal, the team also identified 11 Pennsylvania-based subcontractors who will perform work on the project: A.D. Marble & Company of Conshohocken, Montgomery County; M.A. Beech Corporation of Carnegie, Allegheny County; Carmen Paliotta Contracting of South Park Township, Allegheny County; Clearwater Construction Inc. of Mercer, Mercer County; Francis J. Palo Inc. of Clarion, Clarion County; Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. of State College, Centre County; J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Chester County; J.F. Shea Construction Inc. of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County; Larson Design Group of Williamsport, Lycoming County; Swank Construction Co. of New Kensington, Westmoreland County; and TRC Engineers, Inc. of Export; Westmoreland County.
A map and schedule of all bridges in the initiative, along with other project information and future bidding opportunities, is available at www.PARapidBridges.com.
To learn about P3 in Pennsylvania and the Rapid Bridge Replacement program, visit www.P3forPA.pa.gov.
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