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Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that more than $550 million in highway and bridge improvements will begin or be bid across the Philadelphia region during the 2017 construction season, bringing the region’s total contract work this year to roughly 125 projects worth $2.2 billion.
“The funding allocated for these projects not only reduces the backlog of Pennsylvania’s pavement and bridge demands, but significantly improves the growing need for better mobility and safety on our roadways,” Gov. Wolf said. “This major investment in our infrastructure will greatly improve our vast transportation network, enhance local communities, and generate more robust economies across the state.”
The announcement was made on a site within the Lafayette Street Extension Project, a $95 million project that will spur economic redevelopment in Norristown and strengthen one of Plymouth Township’s busy retail and industrial centers.
Overall highlights in the 2017 construction season for PennDOT’s District 6 (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties) include:
- approximately 235 miles of paving
- approximately 33 bridges will be repaired or replaced
“The infusion of additional funding through Act 89 has allowed us to move critical projects into construction that will help extend the service life of our highways and bridges, improve safety and strengthen our infrastructure for future generations,” District 6 executive Kenneth M. McClain said. Act 89 is a 2013 state law allocating additional funding for infrastructure, totaling $2.3 to $2.4 billion by the fifth year of the plan.
Notable projects that are expected to be bid this year include:
- I-95 GR4 in Philadelphia (estimated $278 million)
- Chestnut Street bridges in Philadelphia (apparent low bid $103.5 million)
- U.S. 1 improvement in Bucks County (estimated $85 million)
- U.S. 422 reconstruction in Montgomery County (estimated $38 million)
- I-95 resurfacing in Bucks County (apparent low bid $29.6 million)
- Markley Street/U.S. 202 South improvement in Montgomery County (estimated $24 million)
- I-76 resurfacing in Montgomery County (apparent low bid $21.1 million);
- MacDade Boulevard improvement in Delaware County (estimated $5.5 million)
- 14 contracts to resurface 235 segment miles in the Philadelphia region
A map showing all contracted work that District 6 has underway or that will start or be bid this year is available at www.penndot.gov/district6 on the Construction Projects/Roadwork page.
The regional investments complement the department’s Road Maintenance and Preservation, or Road MaP, program, which Gov. Wolf recently announced, will invest $2.1 billion in maintenance and highway and bridge capital projects over the next 10 years. Of the investments, $1 billion will go to roadway maintenance and $1.1 billion will go to highway and bridge capital projects. Of the capital projects, $500 million will be allocated to an Interstate preservation and reconstruction program, bringing that total program, begun in 2016, to $1 billion over the next 10 years. Another $600 million will go toward rehabilitation and reconstruction needs identified through the department’s district and regional planning efforts.
For more information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department’s Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov.