The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) advised travelers today that the eastbound Route 581 bridge over 10th Street in Lemoyne, Cumberland County, will be closed for the last of just four weekends required to replace the bridge superstructure.
The closure is necessary for the paving of a latex-modified concrete overlay on the new bridge deck. Eastbound Route 581 is scheduled to be closed between the U.S. 15 interchange and Interstate 83 starting Saturday, July 18, at 5 AM and continuing no later than 6 AM on Monday, July 20, weather permitting.
PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards, who announced the accelerated project schedule in May, noted that completing the project with full closures over four weekends saved motorists roughly a year and a half of full-time traffic disruptions.
“If all goes well this weekend, we will have replaced a 60-year old, structurally deficient superstructure in just four weekends,” Richards said. “While not all of our projects can be done this way, we are pleased that we could use innovative technology to dramatically reduce impacts to the 86,000 vehicles traveling through this area each day.”
PennDOT advises those who travel Route 581 eastbound to I-83 and Harrisburg to use the Capital Beltway and follow Route 581 westbound through the U.S. 15 interchange, to I-81 North, to I-83 South toward Harrisburg. Motorists may want to consider using other alternate routes.
While paving is underway on the eastbound Route 581 bridge structure, traffic on westbound Route 581 will be restricted to a single lane. This is necessary because some of the paving equipment will extend into the opposite direction of traffic. In addition, 10th Street under Route 581 will be closed to traffic during the overnight hours, and flaggers will assist motorists through the underpass on 10th Street during the day.
