Drivers in Northeast Philly, brace yourselves for more delays. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has got a fresh round of asphalt for you. Paving is set for the next act in the I-95 reconstruction drama at the Cottman Avenue Interchange next Wednesday.

PennDOT announced today that road warriors should expect a left lane closure on northbound and southbound I-95 between Academy Road and the Betsy Ross Bridge interchanges. The work is scheduled for May 1, from the ungodly hour of 9:00 AM to the marginally less ungodly hour of 3:30 PM.

Commuters are getting a heads-up to allow extra time – think the duration of your favorite podcast episode, then double it – because if history teaches us anything, it’s that traffic will back up and patience will wear thin. Everything is, of course, at the mercy of the weather, because when isn't it?

This isn't just any pavement party. The lane closure is necessary for PennDOT’s contractor to lay down the concrete deck on the inner section of the new southbound bridge. After all, the outer sections were finished last November. Drivers have been playing musical lanes ever since, with traffic shuffled onto these outer sections. But it's all for the greater good – or at least for the greater bridge, which isn't expected to wrap until mid-2024.

So, Philly set your alarms and plan. Your daily grind on the I-95 is getting a facelift, and it's going to sting a little before we all look pretty cruising on that new concrete across the Cottman Avenue Interchange.