Construction on Center City Viaduct Nearing Completion
Construction to rehabilitate the Interstate 76 viaduct between University Avenue and 30th Street continues this winter as PennDOT’s contractor completes median replacement (see below) and other work items to rehabilitate the mile-long Center City structure.
The westbound expressway is expected to remain reduced to one lane around-the-clock through February as crews replace the remaining sections of the existing concrete median barrier. In addition to the westbound lane closure, the eastbound off-ramp and westbound on-ramp at South Street will remain closed until the completion of barrier work as well.
Eastbound off-peak and weekend lane closures will continue periodically through late winter as the contractor completes barrier, pavement markings, and other viaduct repairs.
Repairs to the structure’s support columns (see right) beneath the viaduct have been substantially completed. However, repairs to two culverts beneath the expressway between the City Avenue and Belmont Avenue exits — added to the project in late 2020 — will continue through the winter, though with minimal impacts to I-76 motorists.
PennDOT in 2019 began repairs on the topside and underside of the Interstate 76 viaduct between 30th Street and University Avenue in Philadelphia. Throughout 2019 and 2020, PennDOT’s contractor repaired the westbound and eastbound viaduct during overnight and weekend operations.
Completed repairs to the structure included cleaning and refurbishing the viaduct’s stormwater drainage system, repairs to the concrete deck’s expansion dams and parapets, and repaving the viaduct’s riding surface.
PennDOT will continue to issue weekly Travel Advisories to local media and subscribers to the project website. Go to I76viaduct.com for project-related information.
PennDOT has placed an overlay of fast-curing synthetic polyester polymer concrete (PPC) (see below) as a new riding surface on the viaduct’s travel lanes, allowing the viaduct’s surface to be rehabilitated while minimizing the need for long-term lane closures normally required for conventional concrete paving materials.
In addition, PennDOT’s contractor has finished work on the bridge that carries the Schuylkill Expressway over Route 23 and Arrowmink Creek in West Conshohocken Borough, Montgomery County. Joint, bearing, and structural steel repairs to this structure have been completed. Similar repairs to several other I-76 bridges in Montgomery County were made earlier this year.