MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Montgomery County eyes library, bridge construction projects

Projects advertised in Norristown, Hatboro, as well as Upper Hanover, Upper Moreland townships

Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library (MediaNews Group file)

Projects advertised in Norristown, Hatboro, as well as Upper Hanover, Upper Moreland townships

  • Montgomery County

A series of bids and requests for proposals were advertised last week as elected officials sought to further ongoing building and bridge redevelopment projects.

Proposed initiatives included the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library reconstruction and the rehabilitation of several area bridges. The Montgomery County Commissioners unanimously advertised these actions on behalf of the Montgomery County Department of Assets and Infrastructure.

County officials plan to use capital improvement program funds for “phase one demolition construction services” related to the redevelopment project of the library, located at 1001 Powell St. in Norristown, according to a county exhibit authorized during a Nov. 14 meeting. Further details surrounding the scope of work were not immediately available.

While no details on the request for proposals were available on the county’s procurement website, county commissioners allocated $4 million in capital improvement program funds in 2024, with $26 million over the next few years to transform the aged 80,000-square-foot circa space originally built in 1976.

In addition, county commissioners turned their attention to infrastructure improvements in hopes of replacing county-owned bridges in Hatboro, as well as Abington, Upper Hanover and Upper Moreland townships.

Bridges of concern included County Bridge No. 44, located along Moredon Road in Abington Township; and County Bridge No. 38, located along West Moreland Avenue in Hatboro as well as Upper Moreland Township. Bids must be submitted by 11 a.m. on Dec. 17 and Dec. 12, respectively, according to the county purchasing department's website. Capital improvement program funds are expected to cover costs.

In addition, the county’s assets and infrastructure department readvertised a request for proposal seeking engineering services to find an engineering consultant for a bridge replacement project concerning County Bridge No. 232, located along Fruitville Road Bridge over the Perkiomen Creek, in Upper Hanover Township. The project’s scope includes completing a “rehabilitation feasibility analysis, and provide environmental studies, preliminary engineering, final design, construction services and right-of-way acquisition services” related to the bridge’s replacement, the request for proposal states.

The project is expected to be advertised through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Engineering and Construction Management System, according to the request for proposal, with funding sources established as 80 percent federal, 15 percent state and 5 percent local monies. Interested firms must submit their bids by 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Dec. 19 on the eighth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St., Norristown. Those interested in attending the meeting can also do so virtually. Visit montgomerycountypa.gov for more information.

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