PA Construction Jobs Bridged by ARRA

It might just be a bridge to some people, but to others it means the chance to create several PA construction jobs.

Gov. Edward G. Rendell recently announced that $10 million is being invested to rehabilitate and preserve the Route 51 Beaver-Rochester Bridge in Beaver County. This is the first project in the region that is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"We are here today because the federal Recovery Act is helping us restore our aging infrastructure and - just as importantly - putting Pennsylvanians to work," Rendell said in a press release. "This project simply would not have happened if stimulus funds were not available. As a bonus, 30 to 40 people will be working because of this bridge project.

"Right now, Beaver County needs this economic stimulus to get people to work and to rebuild its infrastructure in order to attract new residents and businesses," he continued. "Stories like this one are playing out across the state as more than $1 billion in federal transportation stimulus funds is supplementing the $1.8 billion in work Pennsylvania had already planned for this year."

Pennsylvania companies led by Mascaro Construction of Pittsburgh are rebuilding the bridge, including subcontractors Avalotis of Verona, Allegheny County; Strongstown B & K of Strongstown, Indiana County; and Callahan Paving Products of Horsham, Montgomery County.

The bridge, which spans the Beaver River between Beaver and Rochester, carries between 10,000 and 15,000 vehicles per day. The repair project includes preservation activities, full painting, expansion dam and rocker bearing replacements and steel and concrete repairs.

The Route 51 Beaver-Rochester Bridge is one of seven projects in the state's Department of Transportation three-county District 11 region being funded by ARRA. Statewide, Pennsylvania is receiving more than $1 billion for highway and bridge projects from the ARRA.

Pennsylvania will invest close to $3 billion for highway and bridge work, the most ever produced in a single year for that type of work in the state. Of that money, $643 million is being invested in southwestern Pennsylvania.