Southbound Right Lane Paving Nearing Completion
Paving operations on the southbound right lane of the U.S. 1/Roosevelt Expressway viaduct over SEPTA and the Nicetown neighborhood of Philadelphia (see below) are nearing completion as PennDOT’s $90 million rehabilitation of the mile-long structure moves to the northbound side for Stage 4 construction next spring.
After workers refurbished the southbound bridge’s structural components, crews began placing the new concrete deck atop a rebar grid last summer, progressing from north-to-south across the span.
Construction of a steel-reinforced parapet (see right) continues along the west side of the bridge and will be completed prior to the shift to the next stage.
Repairs to the deteriorated concrete support columns will continue, along with the replacement of the bridge’s bearings – where deck beams rest atop support piers.
When the project shifts to Stage 4 construction on the northbound side this spring, two lanes of traffic will remain on the refurbished southbound side along with one northbound lane of traffic, and one northbound lane will remain on the outer edge of the northbound viaduct for repairs to the middle of the northbound viaduct.
Motorists may encounter periodic nighttime lane closures, stoppages, and traffic slowdowns Mondays through Fridays during the remaining construction.
Work also continues periodically on replacing 24 existing sign structures and adding six additional signs on other roadways approaching the project area, including installation of large electronic message boards on Interstate 76 and City Avenue.
In addition to the viaduct, repairs and painting of the structural steel components continue on the Fox Street bridge over the expressway south of the main viaduct.
The Cayuga Street on-ramp to southbound U.S. 1/Roosevelt Expressway remains closed. It was closed and detoured earlier in 2019 to allow two lanes of southbound traffic to move through the work area uninterrupted by the merge of on-ramp traffic during repairs to the viaduct.
Current construction is Stage 3 of 6 stages of repairs being completed under a $90 million contract to rehabilitate the 2,587-foot-long viaduct. The entire project is scheduled to be completed in spring 2024.