PennDOT News You Can Use

Construction begins to replace 2 Williams Grove Road bridges

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently began a construction project to replace two bridges on Williams Grove Road - one over the Yellow Breeches Creek between Monroe Township, Cumberland County, and Carroll Township, York County; and one over a tributary to Dogwood Run in Monroe Township. Nearly 5,800 vehicles cross over these bridges on a daily basis.

Traffic will continue to be maintained on Williams Grove Road throughout the course of the project. It will not be necessary to close the bridges and detour traffic. Instead, the new bridge structures will be built on a new alignment close to the existing road.

The existing three-span bridge over the Yellow Breeches Creek was built in 1941 and measure 153 feet long, with a roadway width of 22 feet 3 inches. The new three-span bridge structure will be 200 feet long with a roadway width of 44 feet.

The bridge over the tributary to Dogwood Run was also built in 1941. It currently has a weight restriction for loads no heavier than 32 tons. It is a reinforced concrete slab, measuring 20 feet in both length and width. A frame culvert measuring 14 feet in length and 44 feet in width will replace it.

PennDOT has contracted with Susquehanna Valley Construction Co. of New Cumberland to replace both bridges at a cost of $3,103,969. Because the Yellow Breeches Creek is classified as a cold water fishery, there are provisions in the construction contract that prohibits the contractor from disturbing the creek between March 1 and June 15 during each year of the contract. The project is scheduled to be completed by early May 2010.

New Weight Posting for Route 743 Bridge in Hershey

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently posted the bridge that carries Route 743 over the railroad tracks in Derry Township, Dauphin County, limiting use of the bridge only to vehicles weighing 3 tons or less. Trucks, buses and other vehicles weighing more than 3 tons are prohibited from using the bridge. This portion of Route 743 is also known locally as Park Avenue. A signed detour will direct trucks and buses to use Hershey Park Drive and Route 422.

The weight-restriction on the Route 743 Bridge was prompted by a bridge inspection that noted significant deterioration in the webbing of the two steel girders that support the bridge. The bridge on Route 743 over the railroad tracks for Norfolk Southern is a short distance north of Route 422 in downtown Hershey, and just south of the Hershey zoo (ZooAmerica). It was built in 1925 and carries nearly 11,000 vehicles a day. Trucks account for a little more than 500 of this traffic volume. In addition, the bridge is 70 feet long and 45 feet wide. There are two 6-foot-wide sidewalks on the bridge and a clear roadway width of 26 feet.

PennDOT is making arrangements to expedite repairs to the steel girders so that the bridge can be restored for truck and bus traffic. This bridge is currently scheduled for replacement as part of a major realignment project of Route 743. Bids are currently scheduled to be opened in the fall of 2009, with construction likely to begin in 2010.