Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) advises travelers that detours will be established for bridge work on Route 581 over 10th Street in Lemoyne during the remaining next three weekends of June, weather permitting.
Sections of the new Route 581 bridge superstructure have been pre-fabricated a short distance away. This weekend, the three sections that will carry westbound traffic will be transported to 10th Street and lifted into place by a Liebherr 1300 SX hydrolic lift crane. This accelerated bridge construction technique significantly reduces the duration of traffic impacts on Route 581.
Route 581 at this location carries more than 86,000 vehicles traveled daily. To avoid delays, travelers should plan ahead and seek an alternate route.
PennDOT advises travelers that from Friday, June 12, at 9 PM until Monday, June 15, at 6 AM the Route 581 westbound lanes in Lemoyne will be closed at I-83.
Northbound I-83 motorists headed to Route 581 should use the Capital Beltway and continue on I-83 through Harrisburg to I-81 South, to Route 581 East.
Southbound I-83 motorists headed to Route 581 West will use Exit 40-B to Carlisle Road, to 18th Street, to Hummel Avenue, to State Road, to Gettysburg Road, to Simpson Ferry Road, to Lower Allen Drive, to U.S. 15 North, to Route 581 West. Motorists may want to consider using the Pa. Turnpike or other alternate routes.
During the bridge work, eastbound Route 581 motorists will also encounter a left-lane restriction and intermittent traffic stoppages as sections of the existing bridge are removed and the new bridge deck is set into place.
A local 10th Street detour will also be in place from Friday at 5 PM until Sunday evening. During these times, a detour which follows Lowther Street, 3rd Street and Hummel Avenue will be in place. Access to the local businesses along the closed portion of 10th Street will be maintained when possible, although restricted for short durations when the new bridge sections are delivered to the site.
Following the placement of the new bridge superstructure, the contractor is scheduled to resurface both westbound and eastbound bridge decks with a latex-modified concrete overlay on subsequent weekends. This work will also require weekend detours, one direction at a time.
This bridge superstructure replacement is part of an overall $22.1 million contract that was awarded on July 12, 2013 to J.D. Eckman Inc., of Atglen, Chester County, which includes several safety and congestion mitigation improvements to the I-83, Route 581 interchange and adjacent ramps.
This project is scheduled for completion this summer.
The existing bridge, built in 1958, is a three-span continuous steel girder bridge. The new structure will be the same dimensions, but by using shallower steel girders, the clearance on 10th street beneath the bridge will be raised from 13 feet, 11 inches to 14 feet, 7.5 inches. Trucks from a nearby warehouse often use 10th Street.
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