PA Turnpike Replaces Westbound Span of Cumberland County Bridge 
Continuous, 59-hour weekend closure, Sept. 27-30, needed for second phase of bridge demolition and replacement.

HARRISBURG, PA (Sept. 26, 2019) — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is reminding motorists of a continuous, 59-hour closure this weekend scheduled between the Gettysburg Pike Interchange, Exit 236, and the Harrisburg West Interchange, Exit 242, on the PA Turnpike (I-76) for westbound traffic. The closure is slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27 and will continue until 6 a.m. on Monday, Sept 30.

The westbound roadway will be closed as crews demolish the westbound span of the current bridge that carries the Turnpike over the Norfolk Southern Railway at milepost 238.09 in Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County, and then replace it with a new steel superstructure.  Last weekend the eastbound span was successfully put into place and the roadway was fully open ahead of schedule.

During this weekend’s closure the detour is as follows:

Westbound motorists will exit at the Harrisburg West Interchange, Exit 242, and be directed to follow Interstate 83 north to State Route 581 west to U.S. Route 15 south and reenter I-76 at the Gettysburg Pike Interchange, Exit 236, for a detour of 9 miles.  

Motorists are urged to avoid the area if possible, but if travelling should plan for an additional 45 minutes of travel time due to other events and construction activity along the detour route.

This bridge replacement is part of the accelerated bridge construction (ABC) program which employs construction methods and materials in a safe, cost-effective way to reduce the time it takes compared to traditional bridge-replacement techniques. For the last several months crews have been constructing the new bridge segments near the existing bridges. When the highway section is closed, workers demolish the existing bridge span and replace it with new span. With ABC, traffic impacts occur over two weekends instead of nine to 18 months of intermittent traffic disruptions.

Project details and detour maps are available at paturnpike.com/travel/accelerated_bridge_construction.aspx.

Work schedules are subject to change based on weather conditions as well as the operation of the railway.

To learn more about PA Turnpike conditions or to contact us, use one of these resources:

ON THE PA TURNPIKE
·        Variable & Digital Message Signs — nearly 100 signs along the Turnpike
·        Highway Advisory Radio — 1640 AM (tune-in near interchanges)

BY PHONE
·        Turnpike Roadway Information Program (toll-free) — 866-976-TRIP (8747)
·        Customer Assistance Center (toll-free) — 800-331-3414 (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)

ON THE WEB
·        TRIPTalk — free, travel-alert smartphone app; download at https://www.paturnpike.com/travel/trip_talk.aspx
·        Travel Conditions Map — live, inactive conditions map; view at https://www.paturnpike.com/webmap

• Waze  — a crowd-sourced navigation app that provides real-time traffic conditions with input from other drivers; download at https://www.waze.com

                                                          ###