Governor Wolf Announces Rehabilitation Work to Begin on Seven Bridges, including America’s Oldest, in Philadelphia Region

Governor Wolf Announces Rehabilitation Work to Begin on Seven Bridges,
including America's Oldest, in Philadelphia Region

3/9/2018-KING OF PRUSSIA

The Wolf Administration announced today that construction is scheduled to
begin
Monday, March 26, on an improvement project to rehabilitate seven
structurally
deficient bridges in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties. The
first
bridge scheduled for construction is the U.S. 13 (Frankford Avenue) bridge
over
Pennypack Creek in Philadelphia, the oldest bridge still in use in the
United
States.

"This bridge improvement project includes the rehabilitation and
preservation
of three bridges listed on the National Register of Historic Places,"
Governor
Tom Wolf said. "This illustrates our effort to address structurally
deficient
bridges throughout the state – enhancing the strength, structural integrity
and
longevity of these historic structures."

Beginning Monday, March 26, through the end of August, PennDOT's contractor

will rehabilitate the stone arch U.S. 13 (Frankford Avenue) bridge by
removing
and rebuilding the north spandrel wall; excavating and replacing of the
arch
backfill with lightweight concrete; repairing deteriorated concrete along
the
arch barrel and repointing stone masonry along the arch barrel;
reconstructing
damaged stone masonry parapet walls; reconstructing the sidewalks; and
replacing the bridge barrier with a new crashworthy bridge barrier. The
project
scope also includes installation of scour protection measures where needed.

The U.S. 13 (Frankford Avenue) bridge will be closed and detoured during
construction between Solly Avenue and Ashburner Street. During the
five-month
closure, U.S. 13 (Frankford Avenue) motorists will be detoured over Rhawn
Street, Torresdale Avenue and Linden Avenue. Local access will be
maintained up
to the construction zone. Detour routes and aids to navigation signs will
be
posted for pedestrians and recreational users of Pennypack Creek,
respectively.

Built in 1697 and reconstructed in 1893, the U.S. 13 (Frankford Avenue)
bridge
over Pennypack Creek is a three-span stone masonry and concrete closed
spandrel
arch structure. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the
bridge
is 73 feet long, 50 feet wide and carries about 14,745 vehicles a day,
including SEPTA's Route 66 trolley.

The six additional structures scheduled for rehabilitation under this
project
include the following:

• Bryn Mawr Avenue over Doom Run in Radnor Township, Delaware County;
• Bryn Mawr Avenue over Meadowbrook Creek in Radnor Township, Delaware
County;
• Bryn Mawr Avenue over a tributary to Meadowbrook Run in Radnor Township,
Delaware County;
• Byberry Road over Southampton Creek in Upper Moreland Township and Bryn
Athyn
Borough, Montgomery County;
• Greenwood Avenue over a branch of Rock Creek in Cheltenham Township,
Montgomery County; and
• Eagleville Road over Eagleville Run in Lower Providence Township,
Montgomery
County.

Byberry Road over Southampton Creek and Bryn Mawr Avenue over a tributary
to
Meadowbrook Run are also listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.

Work on the entire project is expected to be completed in late 2019.

Loftus Construction, Inc. of Cinnaminson, N.J., is the general contractor
on
this $7,220,000 bridge improvement project that is financed with 80 percent

federal and 20 percent state funds.

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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