Glenolden bridge work to disrupt traffic for months
GLENOLDEN » One of the most frequently used routes through Delaware County is about to require a detour, beginning later this month. Construction is scheduled to begin Monday, Feb. 26, to replace the bridge carrying MacDade Boulevard over the Muckinipattis Creek in Glenolden, PennDOT announced this week.
The new structure is expected to be completed in August and will require a detour around a section of MacDade Boulevard between Oak and South Avenues, for the full six-month construction time span. The detour will affect the continuous flow of traffic on MacDade Boulevard, where motorists can now travel a straight linear road, from Yeadon through to Chester.
PennDOT’s contractor will replace the steel channel beam bridge with a pre-cast concrete box culvert, which will feature new guide rail, sidewalks and safety enhancements. The bridge approaches will also be resurfaced.
“The letter from PennDOT about the bridge replacement getting started later this month was mailed out on Monday, Feb. 12, and we received it on Tuesday, Feb. 13,” explained Glenolden Borough Manager Brian Razzi. “We immediately informed Glenolden Borough Council when we met on Feb. 13 and put whatever information that we had out on social media to inform residents. SEPTA hadn’t even been notified yet. We told the Darby Township manager about it who also had no idea, although Darby Township will most definitely be affected by the detour.”
Razzi said as soon as he receives more information, he will inform Glenolden residents. He said that it is up to PennDOT to send letters out to the residences that will be directly affected by the construction and detours.
“We’ve known about the bridge replacement for about five years, but we thought that there would be a meeting or two beforehand, or in the very least, that we would get more advance notice than a twoweek lead way, when it was actually about to happen,” he remarked.
Due to the nature of the repairs, MacDade Boulevard will be closed and detoured between Dalmas Avenue and Werner Avenue during the bridge replacement project. Beginning Feb. 26, motorists on MacDade Boulevard will be directed to use West South Avenue, Providence Road and Oak Lane as a detour around the closed section of MacDade.
According to Razzi, MacDade Boulevard in the affected section between Knowles and Dalmas avenues, will still be open to pedestrian traffic, with a slight detour taking walkers onto Bonsall Avenue to South Avenue. Since there are no distinct sidewalks, Razzi said, PennDOT will have a make-shift walkway in place.
After receiving the news on Tuesday, Razzi met with Glenolden Police Chief Jay Kelly and Interboro School District Superintendent Bernadette Reiley to determine the best course of action for students at Glenolden School which is located at 150 N. MacDade Blvd., near the construction site. Razzi said that the initial plan is to reroute the drop-off of students to Academy and Ashby avenues, moving it from in front of the school, where it is now, to the rear of the building. After-school pickup will not be affected because most children walk home, Razzi stated, and safe pedestrian routes will be in place.
“I am sure students’ parents will receive letters as soon as the school district determines the details,” Razzi said.
Local access will be maintained for businesses and residences between South and Oak avenues, up to the construction zone. The parking lots of businesses will also remain open, although customers will have to take the detour if coming from the opposite side of the closed portion of MacDade. Businesses on both sides of the construction zone would likely be affected by the halt of ordinary traffic flow in some way.
When asked why the traffic was not being rerouted to Chester Pike, Razzi said it is PennDOT that makes the decisions and plots the detour, not local officials.
“Locals and others who know the neighborhood will probably also use Chester Pike and Academy Avenue and other roads that aren’t on the official detour. Traffic was probably detoured the other route
due to the South Avenue trestle where a truck could get stuck,” explained Razzi. “We just don’t really know the impact of this whole project on the traffic pattern and other details until it happens. We will continue to keep residents informed as we figure out more ways to make this easier on everyone.”
Motorists are advised to allow
extra time when traveling through the area because slowdowns will occur.
“We are working quickly after getting this unexpected information. We hope to be out there trying to alleviate traffic problems that might occur in the best way that we can,” stated Razzi, who said that he personally lives in that part of Glenolden and will be affected daily by the closure. “Because it’s a state project, we don’t have a whole lot of control over how things will be done. However, we will monitor it extremely
closely and make adjustments.”
Built in 1947, the existing onespan structure is 9 feet long, 52 feet wide and carries an average of 22,394 vehicles a day. The new culvert will be 11 feet long and 62 feet wide.
Loftus Construction Inc. of Cinnaminson, N.J., is the general contractor on the project. According to PennDOT, the project is financed with 100 percent state funds through Act 89, Pennsylvania’s transportation plan.
The bridge replacement is being
performed under PennDOT’s $11,766,000 project to rehabilitate five structurally deficient bridges in Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, and replace six structurally-deficient culverts in Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties.
The bridges currently under construction include: Rocky Ridge Road over a branch of Tohickon Creek in Richland Township, Bucks County; State Road over a branch of Cooks Creek in Springfield Township, Bucks County; Route 113 over Mill Creek
in Hilltown Township, Bucks County; and Route 282 over a branch of Brandywine Creek in East Brandywine Township, Chester County.
For more information on this and other PennDOT projects, visit www.penndot.gov. Motorists can check 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 850 traffic cameras.