PennDOT Works to Fix Bridges

The number of structurally deficient bridges in PennDOT District 11 (Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence County) is at its lowest in recent years. Last year District 11 opened construction bids for improvements on 81 bridges, 54 of which were deficient. Since 2007 the number of deficient bridges have decreased from 605 to 484, about 26 percent of the districts bridges.

District Executive Dan Cessna, says that PennDOT has worked hard to keep up with deficient bridges. "We've more than doubled our bridge program over the last three years due to having additional funding. We've made significant progress, but as everyone knows, our infrastructure around the region is very old and it continues to age, and new bridges become structurally deficient every several weeks."

Cessna says that improvement on deficient bridges will continue into 2011. The upcoming construction season will see bids opened for more than $150 million in projects to repair, replace, preserve, and maintain 71 bridges, 42 of which are rated structurally deficient. He says that the improvement of bridges will continue beyond the 2012 season, but an end to stimulus money might reduce the number of projects the district will move into construction.