They say you need to spend money to make money.
That’s no mere cliché when it comes to public
infrastructure spending – Philadelphia’s economic machinery would grind to a
halt if our bridges, trains and roads crumbled and collapsed.
But it’s rare to have an adage work as literally as this
one is now for PennDOT and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
(DVRPC). New funding from Act 89 is allowing the agencies to speed up
construction on some major rehabilitation projects, like the upcoming
restoration of seven bridges over I-676 near Logan Square, netting huge savings
in the process.
And those savings are now being shifted to speed up
needed repairs to Chestnut Street’s bridges. The DVRPC’s Regional Technical
Committee essentially authorized that shift at this month’s meeting by
recommending an amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program to that
effect. The move will be official once the full DVRPC Board approves that
amendment to the TIP, which is basically a to-do list for federal
transportation funding.
Construction begins next month on the I-676 project. As
with other major transportation projects, PennDOT has created a website for the
I-676 bridge repair, which includes some new renderings of the planned
streetscape improvements in the surrounding area.
Before Act 89’s passage in 2013, PennDOT planned on
replacing the seven bridges through back-to-back contracts. Act 89 freed up
certain funds initially allocated to other projects, allowing PennDOT to
combine the seven overpasses crossing the Vine Street Expressway into just one
contract, which will ultimately speed the entire undertaking up by 12-18
months.
Combining contracts saves a ton of money, in a lot of
different ways: economies of scale in purchasing materials, reduced search
costs, and the realization of various efficiencies. Add in some cheaper supply
prices due to lower oil prices and some surprisingly competitive bids, and the
rehab’s projected construction cost went from about $98 million to $55 million
– a $42 million difference. It’s worth noting that, even if PennDOT went with
the highest bidder, the project would still be projected to save close to $29
million – the difference really comes from the increased efficiency.
WORKING HARD FOR THE MONEY – WHY THE ACCOUNTING IS
COMPLEX
Why all the fund shifting, money moving and expense
reallocations? Well, public transportation projects are funded from a wide
variety of sources. Lots of transportation funds are extremely restricted in how
they can be deployed. That can be particularly true for federal funding, which
usually requires matching monies from the state and local government. Other
funds are less particular about how they’re spent. Often, those flexible funds
are needed on the most urgent projects, which may or may not be eligible for
more restricted funds. Thus, piecing together projecting funding from a variety
of sources can be a bit like Tetris for the regional planners. Act 89’s
revenues plugged a number of holes, freeing up other funds.
Here, the knock-on effect isn’t limited to fixing up the
bridges near Logan Square sooner and cheaper. The savings are now being shifted
to rehab work on Chestnut Street’s bridges over the Schuylkill River and its
eponymous expressway, as well as work on West Schuylkill Avenue.
The Chestnut Street bridge project was originally planned
to cost a total of $89 million, beginning construction in 2018 and finishing up
in 2021. Now, barring a rare and unexpected reversal by the DVRPC Board, fixing
the bridges will cost just $78.5 million and construction will start in 2016
and finish by 2018. Those are savings of $10.5 million, two years in waiting
for construction, and a year in total construction time.
The money from Act 89 isn’t merely getting added on top
of the old transportation budget: it’s being leveraged. Every additional dollar
from Act 89 is having more than a dollar’s impact on the state’s highways,
bridges, railroads and trails, although no one can say just how much more at
this time.
While everyone’s happy to see the state saving some
green, some of them look at how the money is now being spent with the green eye
of envy, wishing it would be used for another kind of green: capping the Vine
Street Expressway with parkland.
“If PennDOT had released the results of their study
regarding the cost of capping [I-676] at all four sections of Logan Square, we
would be able to make a more informed decision on how to best spend this
money,” wrote Kyle McShane in an e-mail. McShane created the website Cap 676
and an associated Facebook page, advocating for the more ambitious covering of
that part of the Vine Street Expressway. Like him, many big-thinking urbanists
were disappointed by the relatively incremental improvement to this part of the
city.
“It is quite possible that the capping of an additional
one to three sections could have been achieved with these saved dollars.”
Not so, says PennDOT’s Assistant Executive for Design,
Chuck Davies. “If you took the money [saved] and tried to cover [I-676], you
would need to redesign the project,” said Davies. Redesigning the project would
essentially mean starting from square one, and that would mean construction
wouldn’t start anytime soon.
Source: PlanPhilly
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