PennDOT fast-tracks replacement of 46 NEPA bridges

BY KYLE WIND
Times-Shamrock Writer

Within the next four years, contractors will replace the Interstate 81 bridge that spans Edella Road in South Abington Twp. and 45 other relatively small Northeast Pennsylvania bridges picked for fast-tracked reconstruction.

Another 46 area bridges were initially eligible for the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project but did not make the cut.

The replacements of simply designed bridges are part of a new public-private partnership program that largely focused on the region’s rural areas, with only three of the 46 structures planned for replacement located in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming, Pike and Monroe counties together have 43 bridges of the state Department of Transportation’s list.

PennDOT officials selected 558 bridges across the state out of 997 eligible structures.

The average age of the Northeast Pennsylvania bridges slated for reconstruction is 70, a Times-Tribune analysis of PennDOT’s priority list found. On a scale of 1 to 100, PennDOT inspectors have graded the infrastructure an average of 42.

PennDOT is whittling submissions from contractors down to five or six designs to cut engineering expenses and construction costs by mass producing the bridges, Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch recently told the state Senate Transportation Committee in Scranton.

Transportation planners have been calling the approach “bridge bundling,” and PennDOT has the authority to borrow as much as $1.2 billion to address more quickly the state’s 4,100-plus structurally deficient bridges.

“Instead of taking eight to 12 years to replace on the normal construction cycle, we expect them to be done within four years,” PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said.

State Rep. Mike Carroll, D-118, Avoca, said rural bridges tend to have simpler designs than their urban counterparts — which often have to include other considerations like sidewalks for pedestrians.

“This is just one piece of the overall bridge program,” Carroll said, noting the region has numerous bridges scheduled for replacement and renovation under the state’s plan for the new $2.3 billion transportation funding package.

PennDOT pegged the average cost of replacing the bridges on the rapid replacement list at $2.1 million, but officials expect to save significant sums of money from the bundling approach modeled after similar efforts in other states.

Inspectors have classified all of the bridges on the list either as structurally deficient or expect them to soon be deficient, Kirkpatrick said.

To qualify, all of the bridges also had to require a full replacement instead of renovation to avoid maintenance disputes other versions of the program in other states have seen, Kirkpatrick said.

After building the new bridges, contractors will be responsible for maintenance for 25 years with PennDOT oversight.