Nov 22, 2009 By Herald Standard Staff 2 min read

Gov. Ed Rendell said that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will finance 33 additional highway and bridge projects, including several area ones. Savings from low bids on the current 293 Recovery Act funded projects will fund the additional projects.

“Pennsylvania has made, and will continue to make, good use of Recovery funds to tackle the backlogs in bridge and pavement maintenance,” Rendell said in his certification letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

“In addition to helping the state and local municipalities advance their maintenance agenda, the Recovery Act money will mean job preservation and creation across Pennsylvania,” Rendell added.

“In addition to the immediate benefits of jobs and economic stimulus, these projects will create long-term infrastructure assets that will benefit future generations.”

Pennsylvania will receive $1.026 billion in Recovery funds for highway and bridge work. Through the end of October, the Department of Transportation has awarded contracts for 272 Recovery-funded projects totaling $849 million. Fifty-seven projects valued at $68 million have already been completed.

“PennDOT staff continue to work tirelessly to expedite these projects,” said PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler.

“We appreciate their hard work and the efforts of the construction industry. Bids have been averaging 11 percent below estimates, and the savings make it possible to tackle 33 more projects.”

PennDOT is modifying five existing Recovery-funded projects. Initially, Pennsylvania’s $1.026 billion Recovery Act allocation for road and bridge repairs was expected to fund 242 projects. Low bid savings on initial projects allowed PennDOT to add 51 projects in July.

By county, the area projects are:

Fayette

Route 119 pavement preservation between the Everson exit and the Westmoreland County line in North Union, Bullskin and Upper Tyrone townships, $2.6 million.

Route 119 pavement preservation between Penn State Fayette and the Connellsville Street exit in North Union Township, $300,000.

Route 51 pavement preservation between Waltersburg Bridge and Smock Road in Franklin and Menallen townships, $946,903.

Washington

Preservation of the bridge carrying Bridge Boulevard over the Monongahela River from West Brownsville to Brownsville, $1.2 million.

Westmoreland

Preservation of Route 30 from Route 119 to Georges Station Road in Hempfield and Unity townships and South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg. Also preservation of Route 30 from Mount Laurel Plaza intersection with Route 30 east to a point west of Mission Road intersection, $5.8 million.

Preservation of the bridge carrying Route 136 over the Youghiogheny River in West Newton, $950,000.

More information on how the Recovery Act is benefiting Pennsylvanians can be found on the Internet at the Web site www.recovery.pa.gov

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