Nov. 15, 2023
HARRISBURG – Years ago, Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) started his endeavor to reduce the length of time it takes to complete road projects in Pennsylvania. Thanks to bipartisan support, his idea is on the move following unanimous passage of
House Bill 1833 by the House Transportation Committee.
“This legislation becoming law would reduce the time it takes to complete an infrastructure project, and every year which you add or subtract translates into hundreds of millions of dollars,” Struzzi said. “House Bill 1833 will expedite projects, get critical infrastructure needs addressed and save taxpayer dollars.”
House Bill 1833 would allow the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Turnpike Commission to use Design Build Best Value (DBBV) as an alternative procurement process for infrastructure design and construction. Struzzi’s familiarity with the concept stems back to his days working for PennDOT, but he needed bipartisan support in order to jumpstart the idea.
“It can take 5-10 years to get a road or bridge constructed using current state government practices,” added Rep. Ed Neilson (D-Philadelphia), Democrat chairman of the House Transportation Committee and author of House Bill 1833. “It was a pleasure working with Rep. Struzzi, who’s been trying to get this accomplished for a few terms now.”
DDBV allows project owners to consider a variety of factors when obtaining materials and services required for a project. It permits them to define the selection process based on their organizational goals and project drivers and requires the designers and contractors to work together.
“It’s about expediting things and still having quality,” commented Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee. “Often times there is pressure to take the lowest bid on a project. Innovation and trying something new don’t automatically make an idea a bad thing.”
***Radio and TV producers –
please consider using the audio/visual cuts in the link here which are associated with this news release***
Representative Ed Neilson
174th Legislative Distirct
Representative Jim Struzzi
62nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137 (office), 717.497.5937 (cell)
Slittle@pahousegop.com
RepStruzzi.com /
Facebook.com/RepStruzzi