I-76 East to Close Several Overnights Next Week for Viaduct Repair Near 30th Street in Philadelphia

I-76 East to Close Several Overnights Next Week for Viaduct Repair Near
30th Street in Philadelphia

11/2/2017-KING OF PRUSSIA

Interstate 76 East will be reduced to a single lane and closed several
overnights next week at the Interstate 676 Interchange in Philadelphia for
construction on the overhead viaduct carrying Schuylkill Avenue over the
expressway between Walnut Street and Chestnut Street, the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today.

The work schedule is:

• Monday, November 6, through Thursday, November 9, from 9:00 PM to 11:00
PM,
I-76 East will be reduced from two-lanes-to-one just east of the I-676
Interchange; and
• Monday, November 6, through Thursday, November 9, from 11:00 PM to 5:00
AM
the following morning, I-76 East will be closed and detoured at the I-676
Interchange. During the overnight closure, traffic will be directed to use
the
ramp to 30th Street (Exit 345), turn left on Chestnut Street and turn right
on
Schuylkill Avenue to access the ramp to I-76 East.

Motorists are advised to avoid using I-76 East during the closure as
extensive
backups and delays are expected approaching the work area. All scheduled
activities are weather dependent.

In addition to the I-76 restrictions next week, southbound Schuylkill
Avenue
near 30th Street Station in Philadelphia will be closed between Market
Street
and Chestnut Street beginning at approximately 8:00 PM Monday, November 6,
for
approximately 15 months for rehabilitation of the structure over eastbound
I-76.

During the 15-month closure, motorists traveling eastbound on Market Street

will no longer be permitted to turn right onto southbound Schuylkill Avenue
to
access the ramp to eastbound I-76 at Walnut Street. Drivers wanting access
to
the ramp will be directed to use 23rd Street and Walnut Street.

A single lane closure will also be in place on eastbound Chestnut Street
between 31st Street and Schuylkill Avenue from 9:00 PM Monday, November 6,
to
5:00 AM Tuesday, November 7, for barrier placement and line painting to
establish a new, long-term traffic pattern.

The new pattern will narrow that two-block section of Chestnut Street from
three through lanes-to-two through lanes.

For pedestrians, the sidewalk on the south side of Market Street at
Schuylkill
Avenue and the sidewalk on the north side of Chestnut Street at Schuylkill
Avenue will be closed.

The work is part of PennDOT's $103.6 million project to rehabilitate the
Chestnut Street bridge over the Schuylkill River and eight other nearby
structures, including those carrying Schuylkill Avenue over I-76 between
Walnut
Street and Chestnut Street, and between Chestnut Street and Market Street.

In addition to repairing and repainting the steel superstructure and
replacing
the deck of the main bridge carrying Chestnut Street over the Schuylkill
River
and the two Schuylkill Avenue structures over I-76, the project also
includes:

• Rehabilitating two structures on the Interstate 76 on-and-off-ramps
between
Chestnut Street and Walnut Street;
• Resurfacing Chestnut Street from 31st Street to 30th Street, and from
24th
Street to 23rd Street;
• Constructing wider sidewalks and installing decorative barrier and
railings
on the Chestnut Street and Schuylkill Avenue bridges;
• Rehabilitating a 900-foot section of the river wall structure between
I-76
and the Schuylkill River from Market Street and Walnut Street;
• Rehabilitating a 15-foot section of the retaining wall supporting the
Schuylkill River Trail under Chestnut Street;
• Installing new traffic signals, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
equipment, and street lighting along Chestnut Street between 31st Street
and
23rd Street;
• Replacing millennium lighting on Chestnut Street over the Schuylkill
River;
• Constructing a new trellis at the Chestnut Street Trailhead to the
Schuylkill
River Trail;
• Restriping pavement markings for a bicycle lane on Chestnut Street
between
34th Street and 22nd Street; and
• Installing a new clear acrylic barrier along Amtrak Northeast Corridor
tracks
located on the west side of Schuylkill Avenue West between Chestnut Street
and
Walnut Street.

The bridges on Chestnut Street and Schuylkill Avenue West will be under
construction concurrently and will remain open for most of the project.
There
will be various lane and sidewalk restrictions during the three stages of
construction that will require shifts in travel lane and sidewalk
configurations.

Approximately midway through the project, a detour will be in place for
about
one year on Chestnut Street from Schuylkill Avenue West to 23rd Street for
the
rehabilitation of the structurally deficient bridge carrying Chestnut
Street
over the CSX rail lines.

The Schuylkill River Trail will be closed below Chestnut Street for
approximately three months over the winter of 2017-2018 for repairs.

In addition, the on-and-off-ramps at the I-76 Interchange between Chestnut
Street and Walnut Street will be restricted to a single lane of traffic
during
construction. There will also be nighttime and weekend full closures of the

ramps during certain construction operations.

The entire project is scheduled to finish in fall 2020.

Buckley & Company Inc., of Philadelphia is the general contractor on the
project, which is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state
funds.

For more information on the project, visit www.chestnutstreetbridges.com.

For more information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those
made
possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department's Four and

Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov.

A list of weekly road restrictions and PennDOT maintenance operations in
the
five-county Philadelphia region is available by visiting the District 6
Traffic
Bulletin at www.penndot.gov/District6.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including

color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com.
511PA,
which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay
warnings,
weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 850
traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and
Android
devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts
accessible
on the 511PA website.

For more PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT
information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the
department on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at
www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot.

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