With rampant inflation and problems getting basic materials like concrete and asphalt, especially for overnight work, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials say they are concerned that the federal windfall may not have nearly the benefit they expected.
Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT’s district executive for Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties, said last week that low bids for contracts have been coming in 10 to 20 percent higher than the department anticipated.
Among the problems are the cost and availability of construction materials, rising fuel costs, and the availability of workers, especially for the overnight work the department prefers to reduce the impact of road projects on traffic.
“It’s very disappointing,” Moon-Sirianni said, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We were very excited when this money became available because it would allow us to do a lot of work that we know needs to be done.
“It’s extremely frustrating," she said. "If you’re letting $300 million in projects out for bids and they come in 10% higher than expected, that’s $30 million of projects you can’t do.”
Read the entire report here.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
