Municipal Bridge Retro-Reimbursement Program (MBRP)

Municipal Bridge Retro-Reimbursement Program (MBRP) is sponsored by Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). DVRPC's Municipal Bridge Retro-Reimbursement Program (MBRP) funds locally owned bridge rehabilitation or replacement projects within Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.

Municipal Bridge Retro-Reimbursement Program | Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Municipal Bridge Retro-Reimbursement Program DVRPC's Municipal Bridge Retro-Reimbursement Program (MBRP) funds locally owned bridge rehabilitation or replacement projects within Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties that employ PennDOT's retro-reimbursement process to increase the number of local bridges classified as in a state of good repair.

State bridge funds in the PA Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are available for selected municipal bridge projects with existing deck spans of 8 feet (8') in length or greater. View PennDOT's Bridge Conditions mapping system to obtain information on local bridges and their rating.

DVRPC works with PennDOT District 6 and the four suburban counties–Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery–throughout the project evaluation, selection, and recommendation process for this program. Only projects selected and recommended for funding through this process and listed on the federally approved TIP are eligible to employ the retro-reimbursement procedure.

Municipalities that submit application(s) to DVRPC during the application period are considered. A subset of the Long-Range Plan-TIP Project Benefit Evaluation Criteria is used to evaluate all projects. DVRPC staff presents the list of selected projects to the DVRPC Regional Technical Committee (RTC) and Board for approval.

Letters of awards and regrets are mailed after Board approval. Program Eligibility Requirements Not all municipal bridge projects are eligible for funding under this program.

Only bridge rehabilitation or replacement projects that demonstrate the following criteria will be eligible for this program: The bridge must be locally owned by a municipality within DVRPC's four suburban Pennsylvania counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery.

The bridge must have a "poor condition" status, meaning the bridge deck, superstructure, or substructure must have a rating of 4 or less from the most recent bridge inspection. Rehabilitation or replacement work completed must result in the elimination of the bridge's "poor condition" status. The bridge must have an existing deck length spanning at least 8 feet (8') or greater.

The bridge must be listed on the PA Bridge Bill or Capital Budget. To clarify, the bridge must be listed on the "Bridge Bill" that is part of the final approved PA Capital Budget. The bridge project must include a letter of support from the county planning director with the application.

The municipality must be a PennDOT ECMS & RAS Registered Business Partner in order to request reimbursement. For municipalities with projects selected in 2024, project completions are expected by or before August 1, 2028. Municipal bridge projects that do not demonstrate the items above are not considered for funding through this program.

DVRPC encourages all municipalities with bridges selected for retro-reimbursement to conduct all appropriate steps necessary to complete an approved retro-reimbursement agreement between the municipality and PennDOT by the deadline. If the timeline cannot be met, the municipality will still have 80 percent of the total project cost estimate reimbursed.

However, the timing of the availability of state funding after the stated deadline is not guaranteed, which may delay the municipality for reimbursement once requested. Manager, Office of TIP Development and Maintenance