CDM Constructors, Inc.

Client:

John Muñoz - P3 Procurement Advisor

Scope Of Work

CDM Smith provided technical advisory services to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to develop this award-winning P3 procurement.

A Strategic Solution to Accelerate Safety and Mobility
Inside just 3 years—by the end of 2017—an unprecedented 558 bridges had been replaced across Pennsylvania, improving safety and mobility for travelers thanks to a groundbreaking public-private partnership (P3) between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and developer consortium Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP). The Rapid Bridge Replacement (RBR) project originated in 2013, when PennDOT was challenged by an aging, structurally deficient (SD) bridge inventory and limited funding and resources. The department sought a cost-effective, efficient solution to replace hundreds of its roughly 4,000 SD bridges, while minimizing public inconvenience and overcoming its funding and resource shortfalls. CDM Smith provided technical advisory services to PennDOT to identify bridges for program inclusion and to develop a strong P3 procurement.

PennDOT typical foundation construction activities

Typical bridge foundation construction activities on one of PennDOT's many bridge replacement projects.

Screening for Best-fit Bridges

Given the state’s significant number of SD bridges, a two-tiered screening process was deployed to identify which bridges were the best fit for the project. First, high-level criteria were applied to identify single and two-span SD bridges that required full replacement, were representative of PennDOT’s portfolio, and did not have active consultant activity. This brought the eligible bridge total to around 900. Next, bridges were assessed based on 35 detailed criteria, including P3 readiness, environmental concerns, remaining life, cost to replace, volume of traffic, and number of lanes. By the end of the assessment, the final list narrowed to 558 bridges.

 

Enabling Assembly-Line Design and Construction

With the right bridges identified, CDM Smith and PennDOT then devised a procurement that aimed to drive innovation in logistics and supply chain management. A set of technical requirements was developed to allow for pre-design of a number of standard bridge designs, enabling assembly line production of bridge components and lowering unit costs and delivery times. The similarity of the SD bridges selected during the screening facilitated streamlined design and prefabrication of standardized components, and it also enabled rapid replacement to be possible.