Construction is set to begin this summer on three bridges in Susquehanna County with nine more slated for replacement in the next two years that follow.

The 12 bridges will be replaced as part of PennDOT’s Rapid Bridge Replacement Project.

PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch announced Monday that PennDOT has finalized all terms for the department’s $899 million Rapid Bridge Replacement Project (RBR), clearing the way for construction to begin this summer on the project to replace 558 bridges across the state.

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

In October 2014, PennDOT selected Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners and its team of 11 Pennsylvania-based subcontractors to lead the project.

The team will manage the bridges’ design, construction and maintenance for 25 years after construction under the public-private partnership (P3) contract. It will also be responsible for securing the capital necessary for construction which will begin in the summer of 2015 and all 558 bridges must be replaced within 36 months. PennDOT will maintain ownership of the bridges.

The P3 will deliver 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 noted.

To see the bridges included in the initiative and to learn more about the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project and P3 in Pennsylvania, visit www.P3forPA.pa.gov. Additional information on the project, the team and how to bid on the project can be found at www.PARapidBridges.com.

The RBR initiative was approved by the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board on Sept. 27, 2013.
Bridges in Susquehanna County scheduled to be replaced as part of the program, by year, include:

2015 Bridges: Forest Lake Twp., Stone Street Creek, located on SR 267; July – Sept. 2015;
Thompson Twp., South Canawacta Creek, located on SR 1007; June – Sept. 2015;
Clifford Twp., Dundaff Creek, located on SR 2008; June – Sept. 2015.
2016 Bridges: Lenox Twp., Tunkhannock Creek, located on SR 106; March – July 2016;
Forest Lake Twp., Middle Brach Wyalusing Creek, located on SR 267; May – Dec. 2016;
Silver Lake Twp., Rhiney Creek, located on SR 4002; Sept. – Nov. 2016;
New Milford Twp., Beaver Creek, located on SR 1018; May – Sept. 2016;
Bridgewater Twp., Pettis Creek, located on SR 705, May – Sept. 2016.
2017 Bridges: New Milford Twp., Salt Lick Creek, located on SR 11; May 2017 – Jan. 2018;
Lenox Twp., East Branch Tunkhannock Creek, located on SR 374; May – Sept. 2017;
Rush Twp., Gaylord Creek, located on SR 858; May – Sept. 2017;
Lenox Twp., over I-81 and SR 2021, May – Oct. 2017.