PennDOT Plans To Replace More Than 500 Bridges
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Hundreds of "structurally deficient" bridges across the state are going to be replaced within the next few years.
It's all part of PennDOT's Rapid Bridge Replacement Program.
In all, 558 bridges will be replaced; 53 of them are in Allegheny County:
- Allegheny County: 53 Bridges
- Fayette County: 24 Bridges
- Washington County: 24 Bridges
- Westmoreland County: 20 Bridges
- Beaver County: 14 Bridges
- Butler County: 11 Bridges
- Armstrong County: 11 Bridges
- Indiana County: 5 Bridges
"It's a public-private partnership enabled by legislation passed in 2012 that allows for a different approach for bridge replacement in Pennsylvania," said PennDOT's Dan Cessna.
Pennsylvania has the third largest number of bridges in the country, and leads the nation in the number of bridges classified as "structurally deficient."
"Structurally deficient does not mean that they are unsafe, it means by our rating critique that they are at a level of deterioration," said Cessna. "If you were to look at the steel on the bridges, you might see rust. If you look at the sides, you might see crumbling concrete. If you are driving, you may see holes in the deck."
The bridges being replaced are more than 50. They are smaller structures, no more than 20 to 40 feet long.
The Rapid Bridge Replacement Project will not only rebuild the structures, it will also maintain them for 25 years. And PennDOT may look to replace other bridges in the future.
Without the plan, it would take eight to 12 years to replace all 558 bridges; with the plan, four years.
PennDOT hopes to have all the work done by the summer of 2018.
Overall, Pennsylvania has 4,100 bridges rated structurally deficient.
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