Skanska USA has signed a $398.5 million contract with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to rebuild the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, Fla.
The 3.7-mile long project will replace the existing four-lane bridge—built in the 1960s—with two new, three-lane bridges connecting the communities of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze.
“The Pensacola area is one of Florida’s fastest-growing regions, with a rising number of residents and tourists and a clear need for new infrastructure investment,” said Jim Goyer, Vice President of Florida operations for Skanska USA Civil, in a release. “The reconstruction of the 50-year-old Pensacola Bay Bridge will improve the chief gateway to the area’s popular beachfront destinations, while creating new jobs and positive economic impact.”
In addition to building new bridge spans in each direction, the project scope will include new roadway approaches, retaining walls, an aesthetic lighting package, shore protection, roadway construction and a wishbone-tied arch supporting the shared paths adjacent to the main bridge span.
Skanska was awarded the project following an extensive design-build competition and review process that was timed to coincide with the end of the existing bridge’s 50-year life span.
Skanska will also be responsible for removal and disposal of the existing bridge. Construction of the new bridge is projected to begin in September 2016 and completion is slated for August 2020.
