Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) recently held an event to personally thank members of PennDOT District 10 for the successful completion of 38 bridges under the $899 million Rapid Bridge Replacement Project (RBR).
District 10 encompasses Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, and Jefferson counties.
The RBR project is a public-private partnership between PennDOT and Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners, a consortium of companies. The consortium will finance, design, construct, and maintain 558 structurally deficient bridges throughout the state for 28 years. The term began in 2015.
The goal of the project is to increase efficiency. Taxpayers pay less, and the state saves time when bridges of similar size and design are worked on concurrently, according to PennDOT.
PennDOT also hopes to replace bridges with minimal impacts to residents.
The consortium includes Plenary Group USA and Walsh Investors, financing and long-term management; HDR, lead design firm; Walsh/Granite JV, leading construction; and Walsh Infrastructure Management, maintenance for 25 years upon completion of the bridges.
The consortium also uses subcontractors, most of which are based in Pennsylvania.
PennDOT has made repairing and replacing structurally deficient bridges a priority. The state owns many of the nation’s oldest bridges, as well as some of its largest.