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Multiple Local Bridges Selected for Rapid Replacement, Brewster Says

Seventeen bridges in state Sen. Jim Brewster's Senate district have been selected for PennDOT's Rapid Bridge Replacement Project, the senator said today.

"As a strong supporter of the transportation financing plan, I think it is imperative that the money now being generated is used to expedite work on structurally deficient bridges," Brewster said. "The bridges that have been selected to be part of the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project are worthy candidates that will, when complete, improve our local transportation network.

"There are sufficient dollars now available to begin to address obsolete and structurally deficient spans."

The goal of PennDOT's Rapid Bridge Replacement Project is to significantly cut into Pennsylvania's nearly 4,200 structurally deficient bridges by expediting work on 558 bridges at a cost of $899 million over the next three years. Eighteen percent of Pennsylvania's bridges are structurally deficient.

The bridges targeted for accelerated attention in Brewster's district include:

  • Route 51 over Fallen Timber Run
  • Monongahela Road bridge
  • West Newton Road over Gillespie Run
  • Mill Hall Road over Wylie Run
  • Lovedale Road over a branch of Wylie Run
  • Industry Road over Boyds Hollow Run
  • Buena Vista Road over Wildcat Run
  • West Smithfield Road bridge
  • Stewartsville Road over Long Run
  • McKeesport Boulevard over Union Railroad
  • Streets Run Road over Streets Run (three bridges)
  • New Texas Road over Little Plum Creek
  • Logan Ferry Road over AVR Railroad
  • Center Street over Long Run
  • Glass Run Road over Glass Run

The Rapid Bridge Replacement Project is part of a new Public-Private Partnership (P3) that was developed to reduce the structurally deficient bridges in a more efficient and cost-effective way. The private contractor will design the new spans, work with sub-contractors and monitor the project through completion.

Brewster, who is a member of the Senate's transportation committee and the Port Authority of Allegheny County's (PAT) board, said that investments in transportation infrastructure will help create jobs not only in construction but also long term.

"The ability of our economy to recover and to create jobs depends on a state-of-the-art transportation network that can handle more commercial traffic," Brewster said. "If we had not acted and passed the new transportation financing plan, bridges would be weight-restricted and closed and motorists would have faced traffic backlogs and delays."

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