Last Monday the bridge was closed and a steel plate installed after a hole developed on the bridge deck. Crews will close the bridge again, Monday through Thursday, April 18 through 21, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. to perform additional repair work from underneath the bridge. During investigations of the bridge's condition, structural engineers determined that it would not be safe for construction workers to work from underneath the bridge while traffic was overhead.
A temporary detour will be posted during the repair work with traffic rerouted to PA 54 and Gilberton Road.
The Gold Star bridge is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. Construction started in mid-March with traffic restricted to a single lane controlled by temporary signals. Work is scheduled to be complete in the early fall.
Five bridges were completed in Schuylkill County last year. Two bridges will be replaced in 2016.
The bridge projects are part of a Public-Private Partnership (P3) between PennDOT and Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP) under which PWKP will finance, design, replace and maintain the bridges for 25 years. As part of PWKP, Walsh/Granite JV will oversee construction. The P3 approach will allow PennDOT to replace the bridges more quickly while achieving significant savings and minimizing impact on motorists.
To see the bridges included in the statewide initiative and to learn more about the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project and P3 in Pennsylvania, visitwww.P3forPA.pa.gov. Additional information on the project, the team and how to bid on the project can be found at www.PARapidBridges.com