PennDOT

Bridge replacement to close state Route 29 South

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Engineering District 5 recently announced Pennsylvania Route 29 South will be closed and detoured between Allen Street and Colebrook Avenue in Upper Milford Township through August.

The southbound closure is due to a project to replace the bridge over Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks beginning September 2019. The project is anticipated to be completed by October.

Traffic access on state Route 29 North will remain open.

The posted passenger vehicle detour will use Lower Macungie Road, Brookside Road and Buckeye Road.

The posted truck detour will utilize Lower Macungie Road, Hamilton Boulevard, Weilers Road and state Route100.

Work on the project includes replacing the existing single span steel girder bridge with a new single span concrete beam bridge on a new roadway alignment adjacent to the existing structure.

HRI, Inc., of State College, is the general contractor on the $8,611,592 project.

The current bridge was constructed in 1927, according to a PennDOT media release. It is 173 feet long and 34 feet wide and is weight restricted.

The new bridge will be 109 feet long and 40 feet wide and will not have a weight restriction.

This section of state Route 29 has an average daily traffic volume of 17,785 vehicles.

Work on the project will be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which will include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the site and relevant training.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com.

511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.