Pennsylvania to award one contract to rebuild hundreds of bridges
By Elizabeth Daley (Reuters) - It will be winner takes all under an initiative in Pennsylvania to rebuild more than 500 aging bridges via the award of a single contract, part of a national blitz to replace crumbling infrastructure. Pennsylvania, which is home to more unsound bridges than any other U.S. state, is soliciting bids this month to replace 558 aging bridges, through a public-private partnership called Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. There is no ceiling set on the size of the contract, the state's Department of Transportation said on Tuesday. “The average age of our bridges is over 51 years old,” said Erin Waters-Trasatt, a DOT spokeswoman. "Our principal concern with this project is safety.” More than 63,000 bridges across the United States are in urgent need of repair, with most of the aging, structurally compromised structures part of the interstate highway system, an analysis of recent federal data found earlier this year. To move the Pennsylvania project along, the state has selected four teams, each of which includes architectural, engineering, construction and financing specialists, to make bids. One team will get all the work, which is expected to be completed by 2018. The initiative, which would close no single span for more than 60 days, would rebuild or replace nearly 11 percent of the state's 5,218 “structurally deficient” spans, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. All told, there are more than 22,000 bridges in Pennsylvania. Winning bidders are responsible for financing and the state pays based on adherence to contract terms. “Cost is a significant factor, but it’s not going to be awarded to the lowest bidder just because of the price,” Waters-Trasatt said. The winner is free to reuse designs to speed up projects and keep costs low. The state will seek to ensure solid construction by requiring the winning team to perform maintenance on the bridges for 25 years. “Conventionally, people in engineering will tell you, if something is wrong with the design it will show up pretty early in the construction,” Waters-Trasatt said. The project is part of a growing trend to replace aging infrastructure in a broad sweep in order to save time and money. A similar project in Missouri replaced or repaired 802 bridges in about three and a half years for $685 million. (Reporting by Elizabeth Daley in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Writing By Frank McGurty; Editing by Leslie Adler)
