NEW TRAFFIC PATTERN ON NORTHBOUND I-476 IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY MARKS START OF REHABILITATION OF SCHUYLKILL RIVER BRIDGES
3/12/09
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will implement an innovative express lane traffic pattern on northbound Interstate 476 in Montgomery County starting early Monday morning (March 16) when it begins the first major stage of the $47.4 million project to repair and rehabilitate the 35-year-old twin bridges spanning the Schuylkill River in Plymouth Township and West Conshohocken Borough.
PennDOT District Executive Lester C. Toaso said the pattern, which places one travel lane on the opposite side of the highway within the construction zone, is being utilized on I-476 to keep three travel lanes open in each direction and to expedite construction.
"We are cutting by a year the time to rebuild the I-476 bridges with the use of the express lane pattern," Toaso said. "This pattern allows us to keep six travel lanes open and to accelerate the construction schedule by providing the contractor with a larger area in which to work," Toaso said.
The express lane pattern will run 6,000 feet, from just north of the Interstate 76 Interchange to a few hundred feet north of the I-476 bridge.
Toaso advised northbound I-476 motorists to use all three lanes when traveling through the construction area to keep traffic moving smoothly. "The use of the northbound express lane does not restrict access to any exit ramp along I-476, so the more drivers that use this lane the better northbound traffic will flow over the bridge."
PennDOT will rebuild I-476 s northbound bridge this year and southbound structure in 2010. The use of the express lane pattern on I-476 is scheduled to end in November 2010. The entire bridge improvement project is scheduled to finish by November 2011.
From 10 p.m. Sunday (March 15) to 5 a.m. Monday (March 16), traffic on I-476 North will be reduced to a single lane near the interchange with I-76 (Exit 16/Schuylkill Expressway) to implement the new traffic pattern, which will consist of two northbound lanes running on the northbound side of the highway and one northbound express lane on the southbound side of I-476. Concrete barriers will separate the northbound express lane from the three southbound travel lanes on the southbound side of I-476.
Early Monday morning (March 16) when crews implement the new traffic pattern, one lane of northbound through traffic will cross over to the southbound side of I-476 and onto the express lane on the southbound Schuylkill River Bridge. This northbound express lane, which crosses back to rejoin I-476 s two northbound lanes north of the bridge, will be utilized for the duration of the northbound bridge reconstruction.
With one northbound lane funneled to the southbound side of I-476, crews will work until 5 a.m. Monday morning (March 16) to establish a new, two-lane traffic pattern on the northbound bridge. The new pattern will move two lanes of northbound traffic to the far right (east) side of the span, freeing the left (west) half of the bridge for reconstruction.
Once the new traffic pattern change is in place, crews will complete the setup on the northbound I-476 bridge during off-peak nighttime hours over the next two weeks. One of two northbound lanes on the bridge will be closed from 10 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning beginning Monday night (March 16). Crews will set concrete construction barrier down the center of the northbound bridge and secure the barrier to the existing bridge deck to create a protected work zone on the bridge.
With the barrier securely in place, crews will begin work on the western half of the northbound I-476 bridge. They will:
· Remove the concrete bridge deck.
· Replace deteriorated steel beams and paint all steel members.
· Construct a new concrete bridge deck.
During the remainder of the year, motorists traveling north on I-476 may face nighttime lane closures on Sunday through Thursday nights for bridge work.
Work on the western half of the northbound I-476 bridge is expected to be completed in August 2009. The contractor will then shift to the east side of the northbound structure, with the entire northbound bridge anticipated to be completed in December 2009.
PennDOT s contractor will begin to rebuild the southbound I-476 bridge in early 2010. At that time, an express lane pattern carrying one lane of southbound traffic and three lanes of northbound traffic will be established on the rebuilt northbound bridge. Similar construction staging, with a two-lane traffic pattern on the southbound span, will be in place next year. Construction on the southbound bridge is scheduled to finish in November 2010.
The northbound I-476 bridge is 1,940 feet long and 52 feet wide. The southbound bridge is 2,015 feet long and 52 feet wide. Both bridges are structurally deficient due to the condition of the bridge deck and beams.
This stretch of I-476 carries an average daily traffic volume of 135,000 vehicles per day.
J.D. Eckman, Inc. of Atglen, Pa. is the general contractor on the $47,438,576 project, which is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. This project also includes the installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) components on I-476 between I-95 in Delaware County and the Turnpike s Mid-County Interchange in Montgomery County. The ITS portion of the project, which began in 2008, is scheduled to finish in May.
The rehabilitation of the I-476 bridges, which also span Route 23 as well as Norfolk Southern and SEPTA railroad tracks, is the first phase of PennDOT s two-phase plan to rebuild and improve 3.5 miles of the highway between the I-76 and Pennsylvania Turnpike s Mid-County Interchange.
PennDOT plans to start work this fall on the second phase, which is the reconstruction of I-476 between I-76 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange. This estimated $90 million project will be partially financed with $33.6 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
For more information on these improvement projects, visit www.476blueroute.com.