Rapid Bridge Replacement Project named best North American P3

The Pennsylvania Rapid Bridge Replacement Project has been awarded the 2015 best PPP in North America by IJGlobal at its annual awards ceremony in New York this month.

Under the contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP) is responsible for managing the design, accelerated construction, financing, maintenance and rehabilitation of 558 structurally deficient bridges across the state over a 28-year contract term.

Plenary’s US Chief Operating Officer Matt Girard said Plenary was pleased the innovative nature of this project was being recognized by the market.

“As one of the first examples of bundling numerous structures into a single P3 contract, we hope it serves as a template for other projects around the country,” Mr Girard said.

Plenary Group is the project sponsor, financial arranger and an 80 per cent equity investor for the consortium that also includes The Walsh Group, Granite Construction Company and HDR. 

To ensure PennDOT’s construction program is met, PWKP has taken a local approach to construction, utilizing Pennsylvania-based subcontractors to leverage local knowledge and existing sub-contractor networks. 

The project has been recognized for a number of other awards given the unique nature of the deal. 

Infrastructure Investor selected the RBR Project as the North America PPP Deal of the Year in 2014, P3 Bulletin selected the project as the Best Transport Project of the Year 2015, and The Bond Buyer chose the project as the Northeast Region’s Deal of the Year for 2015.