Harrisburg, PA – The contractor for the Landis Valley Road Bridge repair project in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, will install construction work zone signs on Thursday, June 2, in preparation for work that will start in mid-June to repair the bridge. The Landis Valley Road Bridge was damaged on December 18, 2015, when an over-height load on northbound Route 222 struck it. The over-height load was an excavator carried on a flatbed trailer that exceeded the vertical clearance of 14 feet 5 inches between the surface of northbound Route 222 and the overhead bridge carrying Landis Valley Road. The damage was extensive enough that two of the bridge beams need to be removed and replaced. The damage prompted PennDOT to restrict traffic crossing over the bridge to a single lane in the westbound direction – away from the damaged beams — until repairs can be made. Eastbound traffic is detoured by way of Route 272, Jake Landis Road, and Butler Road.
Landis Valley Road is a local road maintained by Manheim Township, but the bridge over Route 222 is a state bridge owned and maintained by PennDOT. It was built in 1969. Nearly 8,500 vehicles used this bridge on a daily basis when it was open to two-way traffic.
PennDOT has contracted with Baseline Contracting, Inc. of Coplay, Pennsylvania, to repair the Landis Valley Road Bridge for $565,616. Baseline Contracting intends to begin work on-site in mid-June at which time they will need several nights with single lane traffic on Route 222 to install protective shielding and to remove the existing gas line. The overnight lane restrictions will occur between 9 PM and 6 AM. They will continue with demolition through June and early July.
In mid-to-late July, the contractor intends to remove the damaged bridge beams, set the new beams, erect overhang platforms, and install stay-in-place deck forms. This work will be done using single lane traffic patterns on Route 222 beginning on Friday evening and continuing through the weekend with traffic being restored to both lanes before 6 AM on Monday morning. PennDOT will issue an announcement prior to the start of this weekend operation.
The contractor anticipates completing this operation in one weekend. However, if any difficulties are encountered, the contractor will complete any remaining work requiring single lane restrictions on Route 222 either at night or the following weekend.
Once the new bridge deck is placed and the concrete has cured, the contractor will require one or two nights of single lane conditions on Route 222 to remove shielding and overhang platforms. It is the contractor’s intent to maintain four lane traffic on Route 222 at all times during weekdays. The overall project should wrap up and the Landis Valley Road Bridge restored to two-way traffic by mid-September.
