PennDOT finalizes contracts for $899 million Rapid Bridge Replacement Project

GMCS Editorial:  Once again, congratulations to our local and regional contractors that are participating in this first of its kind program, A.D. Marble & Company of Conshohocken, PA and J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, PA.   

PennDOT has finalized all contracts for the department's $899 million Rapid Bridge Replacement Project, with construction to begin this summer on 558 bridges across the state.

The project was the subject of intense bidding from large construction and engineering firms from across the U.S. before being awarded to the Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners team in the fall.

"We have a signed contract completed, and the Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners team has already begun preparing for construction of these bridges," PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said. "This is an important milestone in the state's most ambitious public-private partnership initiative to date."

Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners assembled a team of 11 Pennsylvania-based subcontractors to lead the project, PennDOT said in a news release.

The team will manage the bridges' design, construction and maintenance for 25 years after construction under the public-private partnership contract. It will also be responsible for securing the funding necessary for construction. All 558 bridges must be replaced within 36 months.

PennDOT will maintain ownership of the bridges.

State officials say the public-private partnership will mean "significant" savings, allow PennDOT to replace the bridges more quickly than under the agency's traditional procurement model, and minimize the impact on motorists.

The average project cost per bridge for design, construction and maintenance is $1.6 million. Through PennDOT's standard process, the cost to design, construct and maintain a bridge for 28 years (which includes construction period and 25 years maintenance) would average more than $2 million, Schoch said.

The Plenary Walsh group includes: Plenary Group, U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles; The Walsh Group, Chicago; Granite Construction Co., Watsonville, Calif.; HDR Engineering, Alexandria, Va.; HNTB Corp., Kansas City, Mo.; and Infrastructure Corp. of America, Arlington, Va.

The Pennsylvania subcontractors in the team’s proposal are 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.

Source: Central Penn Business Journal