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April 6, 2001

URGENT TRAVEL ADVISORY:
Turnpike Plans Early Morning Shutdown
During Demolition of Somerset County Bridge

The Pennsylvania Turnpike will be completely shutdown for approximately four hours between Interchange 10 (Somerset) and Interchange 11 (Bedford) in the early morning on Sunday, April 8.

Westbound motorists will be detoured off the Turnpike at the Bedford Interchange beginning at 1 a.m., and eastbound motorists will be detoured off the Turnpike at the Somerset Interchange beginning at 1:40 a.m.

The shutdown — during which construction crews will remove steel girders from an overhead bridge that is being razed — will be in effect until 5 a.m.

Exiting motorists will receive an alternate-route card — featuring directions to get back onto the Turnpike — from a collector at the tollbooth.

Although access to and from the Somerset service plazas will be prohibited during this time, all services will remain in operation during the shutdown for customers who wish to wait in the plazas.

The bridge is being demolished and replaced as part of a total roadway reconstruction project.

Motorists traveling on this part of the Turnpike during these times are urged to use caution and remain alert for sudden traffic stoppages.

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 P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676         Phone: (717) 939-9551         Fax: (717) 986-9649