Contractor James D. Morrissey is modernizing a 1-mi. stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at a cost of $64.2 million. The project includes expanding the road to six lanes, rebuilding a bridge and incorporating new technology like drones with GPS for precision grading. Completion is expected in 2026.
Photo courtesy of James D. Morrissey
Workers used excavators and trucks in concert to relocate approximately 245,000 cu. yds. of dirt to make room for the additional lanes on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, America's first superhighway, opened in October 1940; it served as the standard for America's highways, predating the Interstate Highway System by 16 years.
Today, the turnpike stretches 550 mi. across the state and carries an estimated 5.6 million passengers each year. Traveling the turnpike link with other roads in the state, many use this key transportation artery to connect to nearby states and on to destinations throughout the Midwest.
This past fall, contractor James D. Morrissey of Philadelphia began preparing a nearly 1-mi. stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276) for the future. Although this section had been repaved numerous times, the road had reached its end of life and is receiving a full-depth replacement.
Photo courtesy of James D. Morrissey
The new road will be transformed into a more modern freeway with six lanes instead of four. The construction team also will rebuild the bridge over Neshaminy Creek and Newportville Road. The work is expected to be completed in 2026 and will cost $64.2 million.
Workers will be doing their revamping of the turnpike between Bensalem Boulevard. and the I-95 flyover connection (milepost 355). Key subcontractors for the project will be Hill International, construction manager, and Gannett Fleming, design consultant. The construction project is approximately 40 percent complete.
Keith Gay is the project superintendent of Morrissey.
"Our work will be a stepping stone for the D-40 project that, when complete, will allow drivers to seamlessly connect with I-95 and I-295. Drivers will then be able to easily travel north, south, east or west."
In the meantime, the construction team has hard work.
"We will be replacing some concrete and bridge work that has been around since the 1950s," said Gay.
The Morrissey team will be removing existing concrete and asphalt to prep subgrade and install a new subbase. The new roadway will be 15 in. thick; it will consist of 10 in. 25 mm base, 3in. 19 mm binder, and 2-in. 12.5 mm wearing. The total amount of asphalt used for the project will be slightly more than 152,000 tons.
Gay expects to use a material transfer vehicle to aid in the smoothness.
The state's hilly terrain forced the original builders of the turnpike to locate much of the road next to massive hills. Morrissey needed to create additional space for three lanes each direction, a median and shoulders.
"It was an enormous job to move the 245,000 cubic yards of dirt that needed to be relocated," said Gay. "We used some huge articulated trucks to relocate the material."
Safety is always an issue on large construction projects and Gay was mindful that he didn't want these big vehicles sharing the road with everyday sedans and pickups.
"We tried to keep our earthmoving work behind the concrete barriers for safety," said Gay. "Often, we did over 100 loads a day. We were moving mountains of dirt and most of it will be reused for the abutments for the bridge and embankments."
Bridge Building
The new bridge over the Neshaminy Creek will be more robust than the old one. The massive bridge piers have been built and were ready to receive the steel girders that will support the road on top of the bridge.
In a construction version of ESPN's Top 10 highlights, the construction team coordinated a night shutdown of the turnpike for less than 30 minutes. During that brief window, crane operators used a 550-ton crane and a 450-ton crane in a synchronized move to hoist steel beams weighing between 120,000 and 145,000 lbs. and swing them into place on the piers where they were securely bolted into place. The work team repeated this activity for two weeks before moving on to the next stage of bridge building. Epoxy-coated rebar has now been lifted into place and secured for the concrete pour of the bridge deck in January.
Photo courtesy of James D. Morrissey
Gay and his team focus not only doing the construction but also doing a clean job.
"As soon as the soil is graded, we try to get stabilized topsoil on it as soon as possible," he said. "People who live nearby don't want a lot of dirt blowing around. So, we try to get matting put down and establish green slopes quickly."
Another aspect of being a good neighbor was the four soundwalls built along the border of the construction in Bucks County. One of the sound walls was 1,800 ft. long and offers considerable quiet from the noise of the freeway.
"Our team used a drill rig to imbed posts into a caisson to create the sound walls. We then used cranes to pick up the concrete panels and slide them onto the posts."
The turnpike has been around for a long time, but some of the construction technology is changing the way roads are built.
"Drone technology is integrated with GPS in a way that makes site grading and site quantity management seamless in our work zones," said Gay. "Already, the drones are able to pre-survey the work area, then pass the info along to the GPS on the bulldozers or excavators. The information for grading is very precise. The days of stringlines and guesswork are long gone." CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance feature writer whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 countries. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement construction, chemicals, insurance and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and reading. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. with his wife Kristen. They have seven grandchildren.
Read more from Chuck MacDonald here.
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