rx for erie county bridges & culvertsroad bridges park bridges culverts. 2000 bridge ratings –...

Rx for Erie County Bridges & CulvertsTenth Statewide Conference on Local Bridges

Maria Lehman P.E., F. ASCEErie County Commissioner Department of Public Works

October 22, 2003

Discussion topics

2000 facility statusComprehensive needs assessment, using recognizable standardsUsing results to “depoliticize” local priorities2003 Plan of attackInnovative tools to meet needs

“Patient”Erie County Bridges and Culverts

Erie County Bridges & Culverts

Erie County has 732 Bridges and Culverts292 BridgesChautuaqua County has 314 bridgesSullivan County next with 236 bridgesAverage NYS County has 109 bridges

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100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Road BridgesPark BridgesCulverts

2000 Bridge Ratings – Based on Bi-Annual NYSDOT Bridge Inspections

Under 31%

Rating - 315%

Rating - 76%

Rating - 627%

Rating - 523%

Rating - 428%

Bridge Ratings:7 New condition5 Minor deterioration, but functioning as originally designed3 Serious deterioration, or not functioning as originally

designed1 Totally deteriorated or in failed condition

2000 Culvert Ratings – Based on 1994 Erie County analysis

Culvert Ratings:7 New condition5 Minor deterioration, but functioning as originally designed3 Serious deterioration, or not functioning as originally


Under 33%

Rating - 313%

Rating - 74%

Rating - 619%

Rating - 529%

Rating - 432%

Erie County RoadsErie County has 1179 Centerline miles of roadwayNext closest is Onondaga County with 796 milesAverage NYS County - 358 centerline miles, Average US County - approximately 300 centerline milesDOT owns 495 centerline miles, 144 other centerline miles in Erie County

2001 Pavement Condition

10 Excellent 9 Excellent8 Good 7 Good6 Good 5 Fair4 Poor 3 Poor2 Poor Under Construction

55.3 miles26.1 miles

81.2 miles




4.98 miles

Funding vs. Bridge and Road Conditions

In 2001, Erie County evaluated costs to bring entire road and bridge infrastructure up to standards Total bill was $600 million of investment necessaryAt current levels of spending, needs were met in approximately 2063This established a need to get creative in project funding and deployment

Comprehensive needs assessment, using recognizable standards

Bi-Annual Bridge inspection process applied to culverts on 4 year cycle, 2 year for problem culvertsUtilize NYSDOT pavement scoring system for Federal-aid eligible roads for all roadsSupplement Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC) staff for federal aid roadway bi-annual evaluation with County staff to evaluate all Erie County roadways

Educate to Set Local Priorities Educate public on the existing conditions – including County Legislators, State and Federal delegation members and the Press to reach all County constituentsEquate the need for public safety, effective and efficient infrastructure with a strong economy and job protection and creationJust in time economics can not afford infrastructure-related delays

Funding - Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

Use needs assessment to set local priorities based on funding available, this “depoliticizes” the processIdentify State, Federal, and private funding sources to further leverage local dollarsDeploy new delivery methods to provide cost and time savings

2003 Plan of attack3 year average Federally funded locally administered projects $25 million annually3 year Erie County Capital road and bridge program $20 million annuallySupplement $30 million in tobacco securitization funding for 2003 to “jump start” Erie County’s infrastructure catch up

Deployment Concerns with $75 million in work in 2003

Ability of local design & construction community to provide work under short time constraintsDetours and traffic issuesCash flowMaterial delivery deploymentCoordination concernsUtility relocations and timingAbility of County to meet Federal Highway Administration rules & regulations on both Federal aid and non-Federal aid projects

Deployment PlanIn-house staff utilized to manage Federal-aid projects and design of small O & M repairsLiRo Kasner, led by Leonard DePrima, P.E. hired as Program Manager to manage & oversee County funded projects –relationship one of “staff extension” to coordinate all consultant design and construction implementation24 consultants granted term agreements

Deployment PlanAll work oversight by Charlie Sickler, P.E. - Erie County Director of Highway Design & ConstructionProjects bid out in packages to provide a balance bid program over 2003 and not in conflict with Federal aid programWeekly coordination meetingsContract documents available on the web, heavy use of IT to streamline process

Innovative tools to meet needsDesign-Build

Emergency declaration Three Rod Road bridge109 foot span over waterCarries 16 school bus runs dailyAADT 700 Concerns over weather and ability to complete before winter

Three Rod Road Bridge timeline

Three Rod Road Bridge timeline

Bridge reopened November 26, 2002 a record setting 91 days after the original 3’ deck hole opened up!

Other Innovations – Prefabricated Culverts

Items designed in parallel, not series, just like in Design-BuildCulverts sized preliminarily, County put 4 contracts out for supplier bids for 48 culverts in January and February, 2003Supplier was to be ready to keep culverts at their own site for 1 year from fabricationBid costs were 65% of engineer’s estimateFinal design was completed on culverts during fabrication, only 5 were re-deployedContractor’s bid documents were to pick up culverts and installEconomies of scale allowed for additional culverts and approach work, 83 culverts total

Other InnovationsAll work advanced using Federal-aid guidelines in hopes that Federal-aid eligible work will be credited toward future local share of federal-aid projects using innovative finance mechanisms such as toll creditsContract bundling and weekly bid schedule throughout the summer of 2003 allowed contracts to pick and choose which contracts to go after and created bid opportunities for small contractors on smaller culvert packages

Other InnovationsClose interaction with GBNRTC using Regional Travel model to assess impacts of detours throughout the 2003 construction seasonLooking toward future aggressive construction program using T21 and successor innovative finance tools such as Garvey Bonds

2003 Pavement Condition –Using July 2003 GBNRTC evaluation but not including 2003 paving program

10 Excellent 9 Excellent8 Good 7 Good6 Good 5 Fair4 Poor 3 Poor2 Poor Under Construction



325.38 miles


386.96 miles

268.92miles

2003 Bridges and Culverts

Bullis Road bridge Bullis Road bridge

Bullis Road culvert


Winspear Rd culvert

Winspear Rd culvert

Winspear Rd culvert


Blossom Road culvert Blossom Road culvert

Anticipated 2003 Bridge Ratings

Under 31%Rating - 3

12%Rating - 7

10%

Rating - 626%

Rating - 525%

Rating - 426%

Bridge Ratings:7 New condition5 Minor deterioration, but functioning as originally designed3 Serious deterioration, or not functioning as originally


Anticipated 2003 Culvert Ratings

Culvert Ratings:7 New condition5 Minor deterioration, but functioning as originally designed3 Serious deterioration, or not functioning as originally


Under 32%

Rating - 33%

Rating - 719%

Rating - 619%Rating - 5

29%

Rating - 428%

Innovative Finance Tools TEA 21

Federal innovative finance toolsGARVEE bondsSIB programs (New York State has $12 million)

Local toolsGeneral obligation and revenue bondsLocal tobacco securitization capital fundsLocal dedicated funds

Innovative Finance Tools TEA 21GARVEE Bonds History

National Highway System Act (NHS) enabled reimbursement for interest & debt issuance costsTEA-21 increased predictability of funding

Firewall reduces incentive to limit transportation appropriationsRevenue-Aligned Budget Authority (RABA) aligns spending to revenues (increasing $’s)Minimum guarantee by Feds

GARVEE Bonds – Benefits of Advanced DeliveryFaster delivery of the project to the customerImproved mobility for business developmentProject costs are in current dollars, inflation savingsDirect and indirect economic benefits arrive earlierEconomic benefit out-paces cost to advanceBetter funds management- Match payment to useful life of assetTake advantage of construction capacity and cost competitionCorrect regional transportation funding inequitiesMeet needs, now, for improved mobility, safety, and air qualityBuild large Advance Construction balances to be applied in lateryears to guarantee full conversion of Obligation Authority

Innovative Finance Tools TEA 21GARVEE Bonds

California

New Mexico

Florida

Ohio

Massachusetts

Arizona Arkansas

Mississippi

ColoradoVirginia

Georgia

Alaska

Michigan

New Jersey

Bonds with State backstop provisions No State backstop provisions

Questions?

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