Clearfield – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is alerting motorists that a bridge repair project along Route 879 will shut down for winter on Friday, November 20. The bridge spans Anderson Creek near Curwensville and the repairs will improve its condition rating from “poor” to “good.”
Repair work on the bridge began in late May. Temporary traffic signals enforced an alternating traffic pattern that saw vehicles take turns crossing the bridge via the open lane throughout the summer. The contractor also implemented a series of overnight closures while removing and replacing the existing beams. A detour was implemented during those overnight closures.
The bridge was built in 1950, is 127-feet long and is traveled by an average of more than 4,800 vehicles per day.
When work wraps up this Friday, the temporary traffic signals will be removed and both lanes of the bridge will be reopened to traffic. Crews will return in the spring to complete final milling and paving of the roadway surface, apply an epoxy overlay of the new deck surface, install rumble strips, and complete pavement markings. That work is expected to be completed by June 2021 and will be done using roadway flaggers and alternating traffic patterns. PennDOT will issue an update on this project before work resumes.
Overall work includes replacing the existing T-beams, repairing the concrete abutments, piers, deck, and barriers, installing guiderail, approach paving and miscellaneous construction.
Work on this project has been done in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan. The plan includes protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the job site, and relevant training.
This is the seventh and final bridge to see repair and preservation work under a contract covering seven structures in Clearfield County. Work on the other bridges was completed in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
HRI, Inc. of State College is the contractor for this $4.8 million contract. PennDOT urges drivers to use caution in and around work zones, obey posted speed limits, and always buckle up.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.
