Facing a multi-billion-dollar highway maintenance funding gap, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation will consider use of public-private partnerships to address its growing backlog of major bridge reconstruction and rehabilitation projects.
The program, approved by the state’s Pennsylvania’s Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board on Nov. 12, authorizes PennDOT to solicit proposals to design, build, operate and maintain selected bridges around the state under 20- to 30-year concession agreements. Electronic tolling would be implemented on the completed structures to pay for improvements, with any excess revenue applied to other road and bridge projects.