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Municipal transportation projects in Pennsylvania – Part I Introduction

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Part I – Introduction

Municipalities in Pennsylvania that are responsible for bridges and roads are often faced with the challenge of extensive repairs or complete replacement of these facilities in order to maintain safety for the travelling public.   The process can be overwhelming to municipal leaders, especially those experiencing these types of projects for the first time. This includes all local governments, as well as local government agencies. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has developed a very complete process for municipal leaders to follow to complete local bridge or road projects. It is thoroughly described in Publication 740, Local Project Delivery Manual, which is “a compilation of Department policies and procedures relating to the procurement, design, letting, construction inspection, and management of contracts for projects sponsored by local public agencies.” (Publication 740, November 2013 Edition)

This is the first in an eight-part series describing local project delivery. It follows Publication 740 closely, boiling it down to key components. It also describes how P. Joseph Lehman, Inc., Consulting Engineers has completed this process hundreds of times for Pennsylvania municipalities, and can do it for your municipality as well. PennDOT recommends that “…Local Project Sponsors requiring assistance in completing their project utilize firms or individuals that have previous PennDOT experience. History has shown that when firms or individuals who have previous PennDOT experience are assigned to work on these projects, the projects go through the process much quicker and with fewer revisions, thereby saving the Local Project Sponsor time and money.” [1]

The series of articles is broken down as follows:

Part I (Introduction)

Part II (Planning and Programming)

Part III (Funding)

Part IV (Project Management Processes)

Part V (Project Development Procedures)

Part VI (Right-of-Way Phase)

Part VII (Utility Coordination)

Part VIII (Construction Phase)

These articles are condensed versions of the material covered in Publication 740, 2013 Edition. All credit is given for direct quotes and for the general process of local project delivery. In addition, interpretations and opinions of P. Joseph Lehman, Inc., Consulting Engineers based upon close to 50 years of relevant experience supplement the material.

Your municipal project may be eligible for a variety of federal and state funding, depending on project type and meeting eligibility requirements that we will discuss more in Part II, Planning and Programming. In that section, we will discuss the Twelve-Year Transportation Program (TYP) and funding eligibility and options.

[1] Local Project Delivery Manual, Publication 740, November 2013 Edition, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Executive Summary

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