PennDOT’s contractor is improving the bridges on Route 611 by removing the deteriorated concrete surfaces and installing new concrete overlays to protect the decks and provide smoother riding surfaces. Crews also are sealing expansion joints; repairing concrete beams; installing downspouts; adding rock protection along the support abutments at the bridge over the branch of Pennypack Creek; and repairing concrete walls and abutments.
Construction was scheduled to begin on June 18 on a project to rehabilitate the bridge carrying Route 611 (Easton Road) over Pennypack Creek and the bridge carrying Route 611 (Easton Road) over the Pennsylvania Turnpike ramps in Upper Moreland Township, Montgomery County, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced. Work on both structurally-deficient bridges will be performed concurrently to minimize the impact to traffic.
Motorists are advised to allow additional time for travel on Route 611 (Easton Road) through the work area. All scheduled activities are weather dependent.
Mainline bridge construction is scheduled to begin in early July and finish in early September. Once the bridge work is completed, the contractor will utilize overnight lane closures for the resurfacing of Route 611 (Easton Road) in this area.
The final phase of the project involves repairs to bridge walls and abutments adjacent to two ramps at the Route 611/Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange, an operation that will result in overnight closures of the turnpike ramp to southbound Route 611 and the ramp to the Pennsylvania Turnpike from southbound Route 611.
Route 611 (Easton Road) motorists will encounter lane closures and changing traffic patterns during this multi-stage project. Drivers must allow considerably more time for travel through the Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange during construction on the two bridges because northbound and southbound Route 611 (Easton Road) will be reduced to one lane in areas from just north of Home Depot Drive to Wyandotte Road. In addition, motorists may encounter temporary stoppages when the contractor is setting up/removing temporary patterns during this project.
PennDOT's contractor is improving the bridges on Route 611 by removing the deteriorated concrete surfaces and installing new concrete overlays to protect the decks and provide smoother riding surfaces. Crews also are sealing expansion joints; repairing concrete beams; installing downspouts; adding rock protection along the support abutments at the bridge over the branch of Pennypack Creek; and repairing concrete walls and abutments.
Built in the 1950s, the bridges are 1,115 feet apart and carry about 31,500 vehicles a day.
The bridge carrying Route 611 (Easton Road) over Pennypack Creek is a single-span, reinforced concrete T-beam bridge that is 30 ft. long and 64 ft. wide.
The bridge carrying Route 611 (Easton Road) over the Pennsylvania Turnpike ramps is a single-span, reinforced concrete T-beam bridge that is 41 ft. long and 78 ft. wide.
The two bridges are among nine structures in Chester and Montgomery counties that PennDOT is repairing under a $7.296 million project financed by Act 89, the state's transportation plan.
Structures currently under construction include:
The other bridges in this rehabilitation project include:
- Boot Road over Route 100 in West Whiteland Township, Chester County;
- Whitford Road over Valley Creek in West Whiteland Township, Chester County; and
- Linfield Road over Norfolk Southern Railroad in Limerick Township, Montgomery County.
Work on the entire project is expected to be completed in August 2020.
Loftus Construction Inc. of Cinnaminson, N.J., is the general contractor on this bridge improvement project that is financed with 100 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.
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