Progress

September 30, 2008

New 8th Street span a bridge to future

Structurally deficient span will be replaced. New bridge’s target date: Spring 2011.

It’s about 100 years old, remains the county’s most structurally deficient bridge and is used by about 16,000 vehicles each day.

Those are the main reasons for replacing the 8th Street Bridge, but sometimes personal experiences explain better than numbers.

“I know my wife doesn’t even like traveling across the bridge,” said Harold Hill, the bridge engineer for the local district of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, while discussing the old span and its replacement on Monday.

Construction on the new bridge is scheduled to begin this fall and continue until spring 2011, when the current structure that links Wyoming and Jenkins Township will be dismantled.

The nearly 1,300-foot, $22.9 million new bridge will be made of pre-stressed concrete rather than steel and will have a fa�ade that imitates stone. It will be better lit, and at 55 feet, it will be more than double the width of the existing bridge.

It will have a turning lane to exit on either side to reduce congestion, and the intersections will be redesigned to include the turning lanes and pedestrian walkways.

But all that retooling comes at a cost. At least five properties are being bought out on the River Street side, all adjacent to the intersection. Portions of 19 properties might be shaved off to make room for the construction.

Built in the early 1900s, the current bridge is deteriorating and generally unable to be maintained.

Though most bridges are inspected every two years, the 8th Street Bridge is on an annual inspection schedule because of its age, Hill said.

The new bridge won’t have many of the old bridge’s problems.

“There’s a major change in the philosophy since this one was built,” said Hill, referring to the old span..

All joints have been eliminated in the new design, alleviating concerns about water leaking through and rotting joint spacers. The reinforcements will be coated with epoxy, and a sealer will be applied to the surface.

All the changes were made with maintenance in mind and an eye toward the bridge’s 100-year life expectancy, Hill said. This region’s PennDOT District 4 inked its first annual maintenance contract this year for $3.5 million.

Nyleve Bridge Corp., which also built the Carey Avenue bridge in Hanover Township, won the building contract.

The new bridge will be built adjacent to the existing one, which will remain open until the new one is completed.

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