Harrisburg,
PA – The bridge thatcarries Route 11 over Alexanders Spring Creek between Dickinson and West
Pennsboro townships in Cumberland County will be closed for two weeks, startingat 6 a.m. on Saturday, July 29. Route 11 is also known locally as Ritner Highway.
The bridge is located a short distance southwest of Carlisle Borough. Theclosure is necessary so that construction crews can demolish the existing
bridge and replace it with a new modular bridge. This portion of Route 11carries an average daily traffic of nearly 8,500 vehicles. Traffic will be
detoured around the bridge closure by way of Route 465, Interstate 81, andRoute 233. In the event of an incident that closes one or both directions of
I-81, Route 174 will be utilized as the emergency detour route. Route 11 shouldreopen to traffic on Saturday, August 12.
Though Route
11 will remain open to local traffic up to the location of the bridge duringthis period, thru traffic will be stopped at the intersection with Route 465 to
the east of the bridge and at the intersection with Route 233 to the west.During this two week period, flaggers will be stationed at both intersections
to direct traffic unfamiliar with this area to the signed detour route. This isnecessary due to the large number of warehouses and trucks in the area. If thru
traffic travels beyond the road closure signs, there are no good locations forturning around, especially for tractor trailers – and it will be the flaggers’
responsibility to help prevent this from occurring.
PennDOT has contracted with Lobar Site Development Corporation of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, to conduct the bridge replacement project at a cost of $1,644,155. The existing two-span bridge was built in 1937; and due to age and deterioration, is currently classified as structurally deficient (SD). The replacement one-span bridge will be built using accelerated bridge construction methods. By using precast bridge components for the bridge foundation, abutments, beams and deck, the new bridge will be assembled in two weeks, rather than the three to six months that it would take under conventional construction methods.
After the bridge is assembled and Route 11 reopened to traffic, there will be remaining work during the following weeks to rebuild and pave the roadway approaches to the bridge. This will require single lane traffic restrictions during the day, with flaggers assisting motorists through the work area. The overall contract completion date for the project is late September.
Motorists cancheck conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA,
which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings,weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 770
traffic cameras, 94 of which are in south central Pennsylvania. 511PA is alsoavailable through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by
calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PAwebsite.
Please refer to the map for the location of the bridge and the location of the intersections where flaggers will be posted to stop thru traffic – especially tractor trailers – from going beyond the road closure signs. Local traffic can continue up to the bridge closure.