Get ready for some night moves on the Schuylkill Expressway. PennDOT is gearing up for a series of late-night construction sessions that are sure to affect your nocturnal commutes next week. According to their latest bulletin, a cool $36.8 million is being pumped into a project that aims to smooth over just under five miles of I-76 and its attendant ramps and bridges—over 20 bridges, to be less inaccurate.
For those who depend on these routes, note that starting Monday, July 29, and on Tuesday, July 30, there'll be closures from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM. The ramp from Girard Avenue/Philadelphia Zoo to eastbound I-76 will be off-limits due to guide rail installation, with suggested detours via Girard Avenue, Belmont Avenue, and Montgomery Drive PennDOT announced. Should you be going from southbound U.S. 1 (Roosevelt Expressway) to westbound I-76, that too will be a no-go for some bridge deck and concrete repairs? Drivers will be rerouted to Montgomery Drive via I-76 East.
The whole stretch from July 29 through August 2, will see constraints from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM, where eastbound and westbound lanes between the U.S. 1 South (City Avenue) and Girard Avenue/Philadelphia Zoo interchanges will have one less lane available for milling, paving, and more of that essential guide rail work. And if you're a westbound I-76 traveler looking to get onto Montgomery Drive on July 30 and 31, you're going to be detoured via Belmont Avenue, then back onto eastbound I-76—a roundabout way to where you need to go, but necessary for the paving job being done.
Along the same lines, late-night lane closures won't skip the stretch between Belmont Avenue and U.S. 1 North (Roosevelt Expressway) interchanges heading east, and that’s for the bridge decks needing repair, not forgetting that sneaky ramp from southbound U.S. 1 to I-76 East—come August 1, it's getting its own set of guide rails fitted, so plan accordingly. PennDOT advises motorists that all the scheduled hassles are weather-dependent, and to pad their travel times as delays are as certain as the sunrise. Adjustments will be made for constructing minor grades, among other things, which include the milling and overlay of existing pavement, shoring up concrete bases, shoulders, barriers, and replacing any signs that have seen better days, adding new pavement markings, delineators, and rumble strips for good measure. Keep an eye out for those backups and keep a cool head on the road; patience will be as much a requirement as your headlights.
