​

Harrisburg - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that the Fern Hollow Bridge project is among the Top 12 finalists in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ 2023 America’s Transportation Awards competition.

The Top 12 finalists – whittled down from 81 nominees from 36 state DOTs via four regional contests – now compete for the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award. Both prizes come with a $10,000 cash award for a charity or transportation-related scholarship of the winners’ choosing.

“Rebuilding the Fern Hollow Bridge in record time was the direct result of incredible collaboration and is a testament to what is possible when everyone is committed to taking action and finding solutions,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “I’m incredibly proud that PennDOT and the project team have been recognized with this award, and we hope that Pennsylvanians will vote for this worthy project.”

The Fern Hollow Bridge, which is owned by the City of Pittsburgh, carries Forbes Avenue over Frick Park, Fern Hollow Creek and Tranquil Trail, collapsed on the morning of January 28, 2022. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Immediately following the collapse, then-Governor Wolf and Mayor Gainey issued Declaration of Disaster Emergency Proclamations, which permitted the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a legal agreement to allow PennDOT to manage the design and construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge. The proclamations also provided the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT the approval to immediately contract with Swank Construction Company and HDR Inc. for the removal of the collapsed structure, and the design and construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), signed by President Biden in November 2021, allowed PennDOT to quickly dedicate $25.3 million in federal funds to the project without impacting other critical regional needs.

Thanks to collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh and PennDOT’s innovative approach to the standard design process, multiple design phases occurred simultaneously including foundation, substructure, superstructure, utility relocation, environmental, and aesthetic aspects of the project, which allowed project delivery to be expedited by multiple years. The bridge opened to traffic on December 22, 2022, less than a year after the collapse.

Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the competition evaluates projects in three categories: Quality of Life/Community Development; Best Use of Technology & Innovation; and Operations Excellence. The projects are also divided into three sizes: small (projects costing up to $25 million); medium (projects that cost between $26 million to $200 million); and large (projects costing more than $200 million).

The Grand Prize recipient will be selected by an independent panel of judges, while the People’s Choice Award will be given to the project that garners the highest number of online votes from the general public, weighted by state population. AASHTO will unveil the winners of these prizes at its annual meeting on Nov. 15 in Indianapolis. Online voting is now open at americastransportationawards.org and continues through 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Individuals can cast no more than one vote per day per project.

Cast your vote for the Fern Hollow Bridge project here. Individuals can cast no more than one vote per device per day.

To learn more about the America's Transportation Awards projects, visit www.AmericasTransportationAwards.org.

Contact: Alexis Campbell, 717-783-8800 or alecampbel@pa.gov

# # #