February 14, 2019
King of Prussia, PA – The new bridge carrying Philmont Avenue (Route 2013) over Huntingdon Valley Creek, located between Red Lion Road and Pine Road in Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, reopened to traffic this afternoon. This bridge was replaced as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Rapid Bridge Replacement Project.
With the new bridge open, motorists may notice a slight bump as they drive across the bridge until a polyester polymer concrete (PPC) overlay is applied to the deck. This is often the final step in completing box beam bridge projects. The PPC overlay is designed to protect the deck from the wear and tear brought about by Pennsylvania’s harsh winters and reduce the long-term maintenance costs.
The polyester material can only be applied when temperatures are consistently above 40 degrees, dry weather is forecasted and after the bridge concrete has cured for at least 30 days. An alternating traffic pattern controlled by flaggers will be used to maintain traffic through the project area when the PPC overlay and final paving is applied in spring 2019.
To find out when the overlay will be applied to this structure, visit www.parapidbridges.com/polyesterpolymerconcreteoverlay.html. In the event of unfavorable weather, this schedule may change. Any such changes will be posted on the website.
The Philmont Avenue bridge averages over 14,000 daily vehicles. The new single-span box beam bridge is longer and wider than the two-span concrete, slab bridge it replaced and is designed with a 100-year lifespan. This bridge is referred to as JV-216 and is one out of the 558 bridges being replaced under the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. JV references the joint-venture partnership between Walsh/Granite, which is leading construction for the entire project. Replacement work for this bridge was performed by Allan Myers of Worcester, PA.
The Rapid Bridge Replacement Project is a public-private partnership (P3) between PennDOT and Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP), under which PWKP will finance, design, replace, and maintain the bridges for 25 years. The P3 approach will allow PennDOT to replace the bridges more quickly while achieving significant savings and minimizing impact on motorists.