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Infrastructure Week 2019: I-676 Bridge Replacement Project Spotlight

Infrastructure Week is an annual national advocacy and educational event that aims to spread the message that we must #BuildForTomorrow. This year, the weeklong event ran from May 13-20 and to close out our celebration, we’re highlighting our I-676 Bridge Replacement project.

Did you know, 11% of highway bridges in the U.S. are classified as structurally deficient? Investing in our infrastructure is the only way to make a change, project by project.  

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 6-0 invested $64.8-million to reconstruct seven adjacent, structurally deficient bridges over Interstate 676 in Center City, Philadelphia, PA.

The seven existing bridges, from 22nd Street to 18th Street, consisted of five vehicular bridges and two pedestrian walkway bridges, all with substandard vertical clearance that required rectification during design. All the existing bridge superstructures, which were two-span, non-composite, prestressed concrete adjacent box beam, were replaced with single-span composite steel girder superstructures, while the existing center piers were removed, and the existing reinforced concrete abutments were retrofitted and reused.

Public space improvements included covering the area between the 20th Street/Parkway bridge and the Free Library bridge to expand Shakespeare Park and add a large grass oval to Pennypacker Park. The intersection of 20th Street and the Parkway was reconfigured to remove an existing leg of the intersection, and an island was installed to allow for shorter pedestrian crossings across the Parkway and to reduce pedestrian and vehicular conflicts. Along the western edge of 20th Street, the crossing length for the Parkway was reduced by 54 percent and traffic and pedestrian safety was enhanced with the addition of 62 traffic signal posts and 67 pedestrian countdown timers.

The completed project improved pedestrian and vehicular safety, enhanced public spaces, and increased access to local businesses and public spaces. The project received the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania (ACEC/PA) Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence in the Structural Systems category. 

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