October 27, 2017
The Route 194 bridge, which spans a branch of Beaver Creek in Abbottstown Borough, Adams County, reopened to traffic at around 1:15 PM this afternoon. South Queen Street is officially designated as State Route 194. This bridge was replaced as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Rapid Bridge Replacement Project and allows PennDOT to remove it from the state's structurally deficient bridge list.
The bridge was closed on September 11 for the replacement project. The original closure was scheduled for 75 days, but the project team was able to expedite construction and complete the project 29 days ahead of schedule. Replacement work was performed by Clearwater Construction of Mercer, PA.
The new crossing is longer and wider than the one it replaced and is designed with a 100-year lifespan.
This bridge is referred to as JV-225 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.
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 impacts on motorists.