Spain’s FCC Construccion and Australia’s Macquarie Infrastructure Developments are in a consortium to repair or replace nine 1960s-era bridges in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) selected the companies for the work. They will make the bridges tolled to raise cash for PennDOT’s operations.
The consortium, called Bridging Pennsylvania Partners (BPP), was yesterday named “Apparent Best Value Proposer”. It will administer the state’s Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership (P3) initiative.
PennDOT says it needs the toll revenue to supplement its main funding source – gas taxes – because the rise of electric vehicles is causing it to shrink.
BPP and PennDOT will now enter into a pre-development agreement to finalise the design and packaging of the bridges to be upgraded. If that succeeds, BPP will finance and conduct the work, and maintain the bridges, PennDOT said.
PennDOT secretary Yassmin Gramian called the selection of BPP a “critical milestone”.
“Selecting a team brings us one step closer to delivering these important improvements to our infrastructure,” she said.
BPP is comprised of the following firms, including six companies headquartered in Pennsylvania:
· Macquarie Infrastructure Developments LLC;
· Shikun & Binui Concessions USA Inc;
· STV Incorporated (Douglassville);
· FCC Construccion, S.A.;
· Shikun & Binui – America, Inc (Pittsburgh);
· SAI Consulting Engineers, Inc.(Lemoyne);
· Wagman Heavy Civil, Inc. (York);
· Joseph B. Fay Company (Pittsburgh); and
· H&K Group Inc. (Skippack).
The first package of bridges is scheduled to be under contract by December 2022, at which time final design will begin. Construction will begin between autumn 2023 and spring 2024.
To date, PennDOT has completed public meetings for seven of the nine bridges being considered for tolling under the Major Bridge P3 initiative: I-83 South Bridge, I-78 Lenhartsville, I-81 Susquehanna and the four I-80 bridges at Canoe Creek, North Fork, Lehigh River and Nescopeck Creek.
