Fay and BPC are leading the $1.5 billion PennDOT project, replacing bridges on I-80 in Brookville, PA as part of the PennDOT Major Bridge P3. The project aims to improve safety and accommodate heavy traffic through construction and maintenance.
Photo courtesy of S&B USA
Fay, a subsidiary of S&B USA Construction, is currently acting as a subcontractor to Bridging Pennsylvania Constructors (BPC), a joint venture between S&B USA Construction and FCC Construction on the I-80 North Fork bridges project in Brookville, Pa.
Fay, a subsidiary of S&B USA Construction, is currently acting as a subcontractor to Bridging Pennsylvania Constructors (BPC), a joint venture between S&B USA Construction and FCC Construction on the I-80 North Fork bridges project in Brookville, Pa.
This project is a part of the PennDOT Major Bridge P3 (MBP3), a mega project with a total construction value of $1.5 billion. It involves the financing, design, construction and future maintenance of a total of 23 structures and 21.27 mi. of roadway across six critical major highway locations in Pennsylvania. BPC is the general contractor for the entirety of this project.
Photo courtesy of S&B USA
Fay reported that the I-80 North Fork bridges, built in 1962, were selected for the MBP3 due to the importance of the bridges in Pennsylvania's interstate system, their advancing age and the need to remove the curve on the eastbound roadway and structure.
According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the total design and construction cost of the North Fork project is $328 million. Construction began in spring 2024 and the bridge is expected to be completed by summer 2028.
The I-80 North Fork Bridges are dual structures (one eastbound and one westbound) most recently rehabilitated in 2013. They cross over the North Fork Redbank Creek and Water Plant Road in Brookville Borough and Pine Creek Township in Jefferson County. Combined, these bridges are expected to carry approximately 30,900 vehicles daily. Approximately 44 percent of the traffic over the bridges is truck traffic.
The purpose of the project is to provide safe, efficient and effective crossings of I-80 over North Fork Redbank Creek and Water Plant Road that appropriately accommodate interstate traffic with respect to connectivity, mobility, loading and geometry. The main spans of the existing bridges are steel two-girder systems with floor beams and stringers.
According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, both bridges have problematic fatigue details, which have received multiple retrofits during the service lives of the structures. The eastbound bridge is in poor condition and the westbound bridge is in fair condition. The existing bridges are separated by approximately 1,100 ft., with the Walter Dick Memorial Park located between and below the two bridges. Both bridges are reaching the end of their serviceable lifespan.
Matt Hindt, Fay's project manager of the I-80 North Fork Bridges Replacement project, said the project involves "re-aligning and reconstructing approximately two miles of roadway and five bridge structures."
Two of these structures are four-span continuous composite weathering steel plate girder structures that will be replaced over North Fork Redbank Creek and Water Plant Road with spans totaling more than 1,100 ft. in length.
Additional work will consist of constructing two bridges to carry I-80 over Jenks Street and a single bridge that will replace two existing structures to carry Richardsville Road over I-80.
In addition to the work done on these structures, three culverts will be extended, including the North Fork Park Culvert, which carries I-80 traffic over the tributary to North Fork Redbank Creek.
To perform work on the two larger structures with minimal disruptions to traffic, Fay added temporary pavement to widen the inside of the eastbound and westbound roads. This enables building the structures while maintaining two lanes of traffic during peak travel hours. Multiple access roads are being established to accommodate the construction of the I-80 mainline embankment and roadway and the substructure for the mainline bridges.
Photo courtesy of S&B USA
Fay reported that one of the first items of work on the project after access was established was the pre-drilling for pile driving at abutment one.
"At this time, Fay's subcontractor conducted pre-drilling using a Bauer BG 28 H rotary drilling rig," said Kyle Shorts, Fay's assistant project manager.
This helped determine the rock and soil conditions of the site, which influences the piles that will be driven for the abutments of the new bridges.
Fay is in process of driving the pile at the new eastbound abutment using a Link-Belt 248 crane equipped with a D19 pile hammer before forming and placing the rebar.
Once the eastbound bridge has been fully constructed, westbound traffic will be temporarily relocated onto the structure. This will allow Fay to fully demolish and reconstruct the existing westbound structure.
According to Fay, most of the construction will happen on land, but some activities will be performed from temporary causeways in North Fork Redbank Creek, such as the demolition of the existing bridges. North Fork Redbank Creek is a stocked trout creek that is protected from Feb. 15 until June 1 every year. Because of this, all work within these waterways will be scheduled prior to Feb. 15.
After the new westbound bridge is completed, the westbound traffic will be switched into its permanent configuration on the new westbound bridge. Fay will then finish constructing the I-80 eastbound roadway.
Fay noted that one of the goals of this project is to minimize the distance between these structures, as well as realign the bridges so they run parallel. The eastbound traffic will be switched onto the new eastbound roadway and structure once complete, and the existing I-80 eastbound structure will be demolished.
The smaller bridges over Jenks Street and Richardsville Road also are being demolished using a Komatsu 360 excavator equipped with a hydraulic hammer. To remove these bridges conventionally, the decks will be slotted and dropped, and the piers will be wire-sawed and hammered down. The bridges at Jenks Street will primarily be rebuilt utilizing an excavator; the steel will be erected using a Link-Belt 248 crane.
Due to the interstate commerce on this road and the project's proximity to the schools, community parks and other stakeholders in the area, Fay coordinates regularly with local stakeholders.
"We participate alongside BPC at public meetings as we're ramping up for work to give the public an idea of which roads will be closed and when they'll be performing construction activities," said Hindt.
As part of this project, BPC and Fay have been working with the local school district to redirect bus routes during an 18-month closure of Jenks Street. Several detours are also anticipated.
Fay reported that overall, this project will provide a safe and reliable solution that will accommodate heavy interstate traffic (ADT of 30,900 by 2026, approximately 44 percent of which is truck traffic) and improve the current infrastructure's connectivity, mobility, loading and geometry.
S&B USA is part of Bridging Pennsylvania Developers (BPD), a group that formed as a response to the PennDOT Pathways Program, which is designed to bolster PennDOT's ongoing effort to address the state's growing backlog of replacement and rehabilitation needs for major bridges that are approaching the end of their lifespan.
This project consists of designing, building, financing, and maintaining six bridges in critical need of replacement across the Commonwealth. This deal reached a financial close of nearly $2.3 billion. This project will have a direct positive impact on Pennsylvania residents, businesses and the local economy.
Michael Baker rendering
This P3 utilized a Project Development Agreement (PDA), a collaborative approach between the developer and the grantor. The developers (S&B USA and Macquarie) were chosen on a number of factors, such as experience, rather than a competitive bid. Additionally, the use of a PDA helps to eliminate issues such as delays and unforeseen construction issues. The developer will also operate and maintain these assets for a period of 35 years.
To finance a project of this magnitude, PennDOT chose to take a P3 approach, which allowed it to accelerate the repair and construction of these six bridges in critical need of replacement despite their dwindling resources in the face of growing needs. Much of the funding for this project will come from private activity bonds (PABs) — this project was the largest private activity bond (PAB) project in the United States to date. In addition to the PABs, the project also is financed with equity in the form of mobilization and milestone payments and fixed interest earnings. S&B USA owns a 40 percent share.
The package will focus on six bridges: I-80 Canoe Creek, I-80 North Fork, I-78 Lenhartsville, I-80 Nescopeck Creek, I-80 over Lehigh River and I-81 Susquehanna. Ground was broken in the fall of 2023, and the construction phase should be completed by summer 2028. CEG
Brenda Ruggiero
Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.
Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.
Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.
Read more from Brenda Ruggiero here.
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