Reconstruction & Widening Project Northeastern Extension Total

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PERMIT NO. XXXPennsylvania Turnpike Commission P.O. Box 67676Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676Comments or Questions?

Northeastern Extension TotalReconstruction & Widening Project

Mid-County Interchange to the Lansdale Interchange • Montgomery County, PA

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Detach this form and mail to:Lugene KeysKCI Technologies, Inc.5001 Louise Drive, Suite 201Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

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www.paturnpike.comIssue #12

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Fall 2012 • Issue #12



Wetland Mitigation Completed

Sumneytown Pike Bridge Replacement Project

Northern Section Final Design

Northern Section Sound Barrier Community Meeting - Spring 2013

What’s Inside

For construction inquiries, call 1-877-855-2545

Walsh Construction, the general contractor on this southern section six-lane widening project, has ramped up operations to include day and night shifts. Crews are currently constructing a new stretch of highway parallel to the existing travel lanes that will become the future shoulder and right travel lane (outside lanes) of the expanded facility. This work is being performed northbound and southbound to accommodate three lanes in each direction. Upon completion of the new shoulder and right travel lane in both directions, Turnpike traffic will be switched to the new outside lanes and the contractor will excavate the existing travel lanes and begin reconstructing the new median shoulder and left and middle travel lanes (inside lanes). This traffic switch is anticipated to occur in mid- to late August 2013.

Roadway and EarthworkThe contractor has been laying the groundwork within the existing Turnpike right-of-way for the roadway expansion by excavating and hauling away old roadway material, installing drainage pipes, and constructing erosion and sediment controls in both directions. Initial paving operations have begun on the new outside lanes near both the Bethel Road bridge and the Walton Road bridge, and crews will continue the earthwork and roadway operations throughout the winter to prepare the remainder of the outside lanes for additional paving operations in the spring.

Structures & Retaining WallsIn order to accommodate the new six-lane Turnpike, the contractor has to widen the

Southern Section Construction Update

Construction is ongoing in multiple locations within the Turnpike (I-476) work zone between the Mid-County Interchange and Berks Road as crews work around the clock to advance this extensive project.

current mainline bridge structures that carry the Turnpike across local roads. Crews have been at work constructing new bridge abutments, wingwalls, and bridge decks at the mainline bridges (Hickory Road, Township Line Road, Jolly Road, Wentz Road, North Wales Road, and Skippack Pike) to support the new six-lane facility. The contractor anticipates that all of the outside lanes at each of the mainline bridges will be complete by May 2013.

In areas where the existing Turnpike roadway sits above the local landscape, the contractor had to build out and up with fill and install concrete retaining wall panels to support the widened Turnpike. Throughout the southern section, crews must install nearly 9,500 feet of retaining walls. The contractor anticipates that the construction of the retaining walls will be complete by May 2013.

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(Above) Retaining wall installation at Jolly Road - Crews are placing these large panels like building blocks and filling the interior with loose roadway fill. Once this wall is complete, crews will prepare the top of the wall for pavement. (Aug 2012); (Right) Sound barrier panels were installed in Oct. 2012 near Sheffield Drive.

Project Completion Anticipated for 2014

While the contractor continues to progress the project, construction will not be completed in fall 2013 as originally anticipated. At this time, the contractor is predicting a fall 2014 completion date for the southern section construction operations. The PTC does not expect this delay will impact the future construction of the northern section between Berks Road and the Lansdale Interchange (Mileposts A26-A31), which is scheduled to begin in spring 2014.

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Wetland Mitigation Project Completed in Norristown Farm Park

One of two environmental projects designed to mitigate the loss of perennial streams and wetlands has been completed. The completed work occurred in several

locations within the Norristown Farm Park and included the creation of new wetlands, riparian buffers, and habitats for birds and small animals.

The second project involving the removal of the dam in Stony Creek and restoration of the stream is nearly complete. The dam structure was removed in fall 2011 and the second phase construction, anticipated to begin next spring, will promote fish passage and natural stream habitat within this reach of Stony Creek.

Newly-constructed bird habitat in the Norristown Farm Park

Sound BarriersThe contractor has begun the long-awaited installation of sound barrier panels in the southern section and will continue to place panels throughout the winter season. Upon completion of the mainline bridges and retaining walls, the structure-mounted sound barrier posts and panels will be installed in those locations. The exact order in which the panels will be installed is dependent upon the manufacturing schedule. It is anticipated that all of the sound barriers will be in place before the traffic switch in August 2013.

(Left) A finishing machine runs over the freshly poured concrete at Jolly Road to even and smooth the surface. A crew member is raking transverse tines over the bridge deck creating horizontal grooves in the roadway. The tining (pronounced tie-ning) is performed as a safety measure to facilitate traction between vehicle tires and the bridge deck in wet weather conditions. (Sept. 2012)

(continued from page one) ConstructionContact Information

Joe Serbu, P.E.Senior Engineer Project Mgr.Pennsylvania Turnpike [email protected]

Mimi DoylePublic Information Mgr. - EastPennsylvania Turnpike Commission(610) [email protected]

Jay Evans, P.E.Construction Project Mgr.McTish, Kunkel, & Associates(215) [email protected]

Jessica BratinaPublic Involvement SpecialistKCI Technologies, Inc.(717) 691-1340, ext. [email protected]

For more information, visit www.paturnpike.com



To accommodate the future widening of the Turnpike below, the Sumneytown Pike ( SR 63) bridge is being reconstructed and lengthened. The work is being completed in two sections in order to maintain local traffic on the bridge throughout the project.

Crews performed the traffic switch just before Thanksgiving to the newly constructed northern half of the structure. The contractor, Loftus Construction Inc., has removed the beams and roadway material from the old half of the structure, set girders for all four bridge spans, reconstructed the abutments, and paved the Turnpike mainline traffic lanes below the structure.

Now that local traffic has been shifted to the completed northern half of the bridge, reconstruction will begin on the southern half of the bridge. Reconstruction is anticipated to be complete in fall 2013 and all lanes of traffic will reopen on Sumneytown Pike.

Sumneytown Pike Bridge Replacement Project

Northern Section Final Design

Final engineering design of the northern section (Berks Road to just north of the Lansdale Interchange) is 90 percent complete and the project team is preparing the environmental permit applications. Two permit applications, one for stormwater management and erosion and sediment control, and another one for wetland and stream impacts, will be submitted to environmental agencies for review and approval this fall.

Upon receiving the permits from the agencies, the project team will prepare the project plans, specifications, and cost estimates and release the project for bidding in fall 2013.

The PTC plans to award the project in late fall 2013 in preparation for a spring 2014 construction start.

Northern Section Sound Barrier Community Meeting

The PTC plans to hold a Sound Barrier Community Meeting in spring 2013 for the property owners (Berks Road to Lansdale Interchange) of residences and facilities in the northern section of the project area whose properties are adjacent to future sound barrier locations. Owners of impacted properties will be notified of the meeting by invitation.

The Sound Barrier Community Meeting is an important step in the sound barrier construction process. It gives the property owners an opportunity to vote on the color and texture of the wall panels facing the neighborhood.

The voting results will be published on the project web site and in a future edition of this newsletter.

The northern half of the bridge is nearly complete (Nov. 2012).

Residents near Sheffield Drive chose an Ashlar Stone texture for the side of the barrier that faces their neighborhood.

Final Design Contact InformationJerry Rollman Don Steele, P.E. Lugene KeysPTC Design Project Mgr. PTC Sr. Engineering Project Mgr. KCI - Public Outreach Program Mgr.(717) 939-9551, Ext. 5780 (610) 292-3795 (717) 691-1340, Ext. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Documents

Reconstruction & Widening Project Northeastern Extension Total