Pennsylvania doesn’t allow public works departments to award public-private partnership contracts, so Northampton County transferred ownership of its 119 bridges to the county’s General Purpose Authority, which can.
PennDOT Pennsylvania doesn’t allow public works departments to award public-private partnership contracts, so Northampton County transferred ownership of its 119 bridges to the county’s General Purpose Authority, which can.

Pennsylvania DOT hopes to save 20% on a design-build-finance-maintain (DBFM) contract to replace 558 structurally deficient bridges statewide. Hoping to achieve comparable savings with a similar program, Northampton County is working with Kriger Construction Inc. of Dickson City, Pa., on the first public-private transportation partnership coordinated by a county.

“Beyond saving time and money, a key element is to create a sustainable and reproducible model that can be used for future projects,” says County Executive John Brown.

The $37 million first phase addresses 33 of the county’s 119 bridges. The county’s using state DOT design guidelines (PennDOT Pub 408) and DBFM model, but warrantying work for 10 years instead of 25 years. Lumping multiple projects into one contract is expected to deliver the rehabilitations and replacements in less than five years, half the time the work would normally take.