BURNHAM - Motorists will see a switch in the traffic pattern at the intersection of Freedom Avenue and Logan Boulevard in Burnham as the Buck Run Bridge project continues.
Currently the project is in stage two traffic control, but in the spring, the project will move into stage three.
What does all this mean?
Once the new pattern is in place, motorists traveling along Logan Boulevard in Burnham will no longer use the current roadway. That traffic pattern will be switched to use the new portion of the bridge, so that demolition and construction of the eastern portion of the span can then begin, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
But prior to the switch, Contractor J.D. Eckman, who was awarded the project in 2011, is planning on placing concrete for the bridge deck during the week of Jan. 23, weather permitting. During the week of Feb. 1, construction on the sidewalk and barrier on the deck side of the bridge structure, approach slabs, roadway widening, guide rail removal, installation and placement of new curb and sidewalk on South Logan Boulevard and the remaining drainage work will take place.
The project is now expected to be completed by July 2012, a seven-month difference from the project's original projected completion date.
Nick Minarchick, Transportation Construction Inspector for PennDOT District 2, said utility delays earlier in the project put things behind schedule.
The Buck Run bridge project was let for bids by PennDOT on Dec. 16, 2010 and J.D. Eckman was awarded the project and issued a notice to proceed on Jan. 21, 2011. The contractor accepted the project for a little more than $2.5 million, yet, drainage not marked on the plan and other miscellaneous unground utilities carried the project over budget by around $100,000.
In July, when it's all said and done, the Buck Run bridge will be around 1,324 feet in length will replace the outdated existing two-span bridge, built in 1939, with a single span beam bridge, and will also include work on the surrounding area as well as new traffic signals.
"It was overdue for replacement," Minarchick said. "It was very old and we had very little plans of the original structure."
