John Boyle
Mon, 30 Aug 2004 15:13:10 -0700
Well looks like another project has been completed that does not consider bikes. They added a a second sidewalk, put in a center turn lane but shoulder for bikes?
In the next Cyclegram the Bicycle Coalition will be sending post cards to PENNDOT asking them to use their own bicycle and pedestrian checklist. John Boyle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW BETHLEHEM PIKE BRIDGE OVER SEPTA IN FORT WASHINGTON TO OPEN TUESDAY AFTERNOON 8/30/04-KING OF PRUSSIA The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) plans to open the new Bethlehem Pike Bridge over SEPTA's R-5 Regional Rail Line in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, late Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 31). Tomorrow's opening of the bridge is contingent on completing some weather-related work. Bethlehem Pike has been closed and detoured between Pennsylvania Avenue and Morris Road since last October 20 for the removal of the old 93-year-old structure and the construction of the new concrete span. "We are delighted to reopen this key artery for the commuters and local businesses in the Fort Washington area," PennDOT District Executive Andrew L. Warren said. "The reopening of Bethlehem Pike will give motorists an additional travel option in this area, which is especially critical now with Route 309 Expressway construction underway." While Bethlehem Pike will once again be open to through traffic, a portion of the roadway leading up to the bridge will not be paved with its final coat of asphalt until utility work by Aqua Pennsylvania is completed. The new bridge is a one-span concrete structure that is 40 feet long and 34 feet wide. It has one travel lane in each direction, plus a center lane for left turns coming off the bridge, and four-foot wide sidewalks. The structure's walls are covered with simulated stone facing. In order to build the new structure, crews initially worked several weeks last fall to move utility lines off the old bridge and erect a temporary structure to carry a water main over the railroad tracks. The contractor then removed the old bridge that was built in 1910. The old timber beam bridge was 31 feet long and 26 feet wide, and posted with a 20-ton weight restriction. Approximately 26,000 vehicles a day traveled over the bridge before its closure last fall. The construction of the new Bethlehem Pike Bridge was the final phase of a two-part, $5.7 million project that included the construction of a new Bethlehem Pike intersection with Lafayatte Avenue/Morris Road (Lafayette Connector) in Whitemarsh Township. The new Lafayette Avenue Connector was opened last October. McMinn's Asphalt Company, Inc. of Lancaster, Pa. is the general contractor on the $5,657,092 project that is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. The bridge and intersection improvements were done in conjunction with the reconstruction of the Route 309 Expressway. They were two of the numerous infrastructure enhancements PennDOT made on key local roads within the Route 309 Corridor to improve traffic flow during the expressway's overhaul, which bean last spring. For more information on the Route 309 and related projects, and for an animated map of the Bethlehem Pike detour route, go to www.309online.com. # # # To unsubscribe click http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/Districts/District6/D6Media.nsf/unsubscri beform ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "bike." To subscribe or unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. See also http://bcgp.blogspot.com/ and http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/