The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has taken a step closer to its goal of implementing the Major Bridge P3 (Public-Private Partnership) initiative in Pennsylvania, with the selection of Bridging Pennsylvania Partners (BPP) as the Apparent Best Value Proposer. BBP was selected from among the three teams which were invited to submit proposals to PennDOT last fall.
The Major Bridge P3 initiative will involve the repair or replacement of about selected nine bridges across Pennsylvania and each of these bridges will be grouped in different packages. All associated infrastructure investments associated with any specific bridge will be covered, along with roadway and approach work, improvements to affected roadways within the vicinity, and the associated tolling infrastructure, which includes toll buildings for each bridge, as well as gantry structures.
PennDOT and BPP are now set to enter into a pre-development agreement
PennDOT and BPP are now set to enter into a pre-development agreement, which will settle on the design and packaging for the selected bridges that need to be built, funded, and maintained. In addition, public involvement and environmental reviews are also being conducted by the transport department to gather more information on the nine candidate bridges, which were announced for consideration last February.Â
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According to PennDOT, the bridges included in the first package of the Major Bridge P3 initiative will be only those bridges that have completed the environmental process; this initial package is scheduled to be under contract by December, which is around the same time for the final design to begin. The developers expect construction to begin sometime between the fall of 2023 and the spring of 2024. Other bridges in the subsequent packages would take longer to commence the design and construction phases.
Bridge projects selected for the Major Bridge P3Â initiative
The nine bridge projects which are under consideration for the Major Bridge P3 initiative include the I-78 Lenhartsville Bridge Replacement project (Berks County); I-79 Widening, Bridges and Bridgeville Interchange Reconfiguration (Allegheny County); I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges (Clarion County); I-80 Nescopeck Creek Bridges (Luzerne County); I-80 North Fork Bridges Project (Jefferson County); I-80 Over Lehigh River Bridge Project (Luzerne and Carbon counties); I-81 Susquehanna Project (Susquehanna County); I-83 South Bridge Project (Dauphin County); and I-95 Girard Point Bridge Improvement Project (Philadelphia County).
