Completed Improvements

New Deck In Place on Upstream Side of the Northbound Bridge

The new concrete deck is in place on the downstream half of the northbound I-476/Blue Route Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County and crews are working to complete the rehabilitation of the entire northbound structure by the end of November.

As the new concrete roadway cures, workers continue working north to south building formwork for the bridge’s parapets and pouring the new concrete side walls.

The sound wall panels that were removed from the northern end of the span will be replaced atop the new parapets at the completion of work on the busy bridge.

Construction of the bridge’s approach pavement -- which connects the bridge to the at-grade roadway –- also continues.

During work on the bridge, two lanes of northbound traffic have been shifted to the rebuilt side of the bridge. Construction has been underway since August -- when the upstream half of the bridge was completed -- to rebuild the downstream side of the bridge.

Work to rebuild the southbound I-476/Blue Route Bridge will get underway in December 2009. The second span will be reconstructed using a staging process similar to the one being used on the northbound bridge. That staging includes the use of an express lane traffic pattern that allows PennDOT to maintain three lanes of capacity in each direction during peak travel periods on the heavily used interstate.

Construction on the southbound bridge will be coordinated with a separate project to reconstruct the I-476/Blue Route Roadway beginning in early 2010. Go here for a status report on the roadway project.
 

< Return to Completed Improvements list