Pennsylvania Department of Highways officials were in good spirits during a press conference Monday morning, saying they are cautiously optimistic that the parkway could open slightly ahead of schedule.
“The best I can tell you right now,” said Jason Zang, PennDOT District Executive of District 11, “maybe the middle of next week — plus or minus.” The state road plan anticipated the highway to be reopened by Aug. 3.
Zang added that the weather remains a wildcard and affects how much they can accomplish. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more than an inch of rain, which could hamper plans to pour concrete.
But the two riskiest parts of the project have both been completed, he said. The first, the implosion of the former bridge, went off successfully, and was only slightly delayed last Thursday; and the second, the bridge slide, was completed ahead of schedule by Monday.
This leaves the less dramatic, but critical work to complete the project: installing anchor bolts, expansion joints, paving and electrical connections. The clean up from the implosion will go for at least another year.
“It’s not as exciting and it’s not as exotic and complex,” he said, “but it is all very important work now to get this done.”
While I-376 might open ahead of schedule, Commercial Street is still slated to open on Aug. 3.
The new bridge was sliding the last six feet into place, during the time of the latest update from PennDOT. Next comes connecting conduits and adding the protective, impermeable overlay to protect the surface of the bridge.
“We don’t want to have to touch this bridge for at least 30 years,” Zang said, referring to the work done now to get it into lasting shape.
Until the openings, detours remain in place. Zang noted that at present, detours were averaging 45 minutes and operating relatively smoothly. Over the weekend, a snafu with Apple Maps and later Google Maps erroneously guided drivers to closed roads. After multiple requests from PennDOT, maps were corrected.