Montco officials approve 19 bridge projects

Engineering, inspection contracts approved; online map to track progress

NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County will be moving forward on 19 bridge projects after commissioners approved corresponding contracts and advertisements recently. The county also introduced a new online interactive map that will allow the public to see the progress beingmade on county-owned bridges.

“We want our residents to know that the county is working every day to make their roads safer, their neighborhoods more accessible and their commutes more efficient,” said Chairwoman Val Arkoosh. “That is why we have invested in 35 active bridge projects, and a map that shows residents our progress.”

The measures taken at the meeting allow seven bridges tomove into the engineering phase and ready nine more for construction. The three advertise- ments for requests for proposals will allow the county to move forward on those bridges once the bidding process is complete, according to the county.

The interactive map, at no cost to taxpayers, is a collaboration between the Montgomery County Planning Commission and the Department of Assets and Infrastructure to conveniently keep the public upto-date on the progress of bridges that are owned by the county. It can be viewed online at montcopa.org/bridgeinfo.

“By accessing this map, constituents will be able to see whether bridges are open or closed, or posted for specific weight restrictions,” said Chris Smith, director of assets and infrastructure. “They’ll be able to click on an individual project and see the status of the project.”

Since 2012, the county has completed 15 bridge projects. In addition, there are now 35 active bridge projects. The funding for four of the engineering contracts and two more that are being advertised comes from the $5 Motor Vehicle Registration Fee, ameasure passed 2 -1 by commissioners in September 2016, according to the county.

The fee, which the commissioners were able to enact through the transportation funding bill Act 89, has brought an anticipated $3.3 million in dedicated funding for infrastructure to the county for 2017, according to the county. It will have a clearer idea of how much it is actually collecting in funding later this year. When asked if the county was spending money it didn’t have, Arkoosh said no.

“In 2012, the county was faced with 62 structurally deficient bridges because previous administrations did not want to spend the money to fix them. The $5 motor vehicle registration fee has proved to be a successful funding method to move our aging infrastructure into the future,” she said.

Below are the details for the bridge projects that were voted forward during Thursday’s meeting. The ones funded by the $5 fee are marked with an asterisk.

Engineering Contracts Approved

• Bridge #38, Moreland Avenue over Pennypack Creek in Hatboro ($275,277.00) Traffic Planning & Design Inc. of Pottstown (Retro Reimbursement 80/20)

• Bridge #119, Davis Grove Road over Park Creek in Horsham Township ($287,851) Whitney Bailey Cox & Magnani of King of Prussia (Funding: $5 fee)*

• Bridge #150, Camp Wawa Road over East Branch Perkiomen Creek in Lower Salford Township ($299,971.04) Gannett Fleming, Inc. of Audubon (Funding: $5 fee)*

• Bridge #163, Lutheran Road over Minister Creek in New Hanover Township ($248,431.78) Bergmann Associates of Conshohocken (Funding: $5 fee)*

• Bridge #177, Sterigere Street over Stony Creek in Norristown ($300,510.46) RK&K of King of Prussia (Funding: $5 fee)*

• Bridge #262, Moyer Road over East Branch of Perkiomen Creek in Upper Salford Township ($271,380.40) Michael Baker International of Fort Washington (Retro Reimbursement 80/20)

• Bridge #274, Henry Road over West Perkiomen Creek in Douglass Township ($124,100.00) Larson Design Group Inc. of Williamsport (Funding: Capital Budget)

Construction Inspection Contracts Approved

• Bridge #8, Morris Avenue over Mill Creek in Lower Merion Township ($99,931.00) Traffic Planning & Design Inc. of Pottstown (Funding: Act 13)

• Bridge #206, Paper Mill Road over Perkiomen Creek in Douglass Township ($135,801.88) Stantec Consulting Services of Plymouth Meeting (Funding: Capital Budget)

• Bridge #122, Rupert Road over Hartenstine Creek in Lower Pottsgrove Township ($62,801.70) Pennoni Associates Inc. of King of Prussia (Funding: Capital Budget)

• Bridge #224, Rittenhouse Road over Skippack Creek in Towamencin Township ($51,000.00) Remington, Vernick & Beach Engineers of Conshohocken (Funding: Act 13)

• Contract for three bridges (Hourly rate of $68.16/hour) Armand Corporation of Philadelphia:

•Bridge #4, Conshohocken State Road over Mill Creek (Funding: Capital Budget)

•Bridge #7, Black Rock Road over Mill Creek (Funding: Act 13)

• Bridge #9, Old Gulph Road over Mill Creek (Funding: Act 13)

• Bridge #231, Peevy Road over Perkiomen Creek in Upper Hanover Township ($149,885.00) Traffic Planning & Design Inc. of Pottstown (Funding: Act 89)

• Bridge #268, Easton Road over Tacony Creek in Cheltenham Township ($117,985.00) Traffic Planning & Design Inc. of Pottstown (Funding: Retro Reimbursement 80/20)

Engineering Advertisements

• Request for proposals for engineering Bridge #207, Ludwig Road in New Hanover Township (Funding: $5 fee)*

• Request for proposals for engineering Bridge #296, Rostkowski Road in Upper Salford Township (Funding: $5 fee)*

Construction Inspection Advertisements

• Request for proposals for construction inspection for Bridge #243, Old Reading Pike in West Pottsgrove Township (Funding: Act 13)