PennDOT to honor fallen workers with bridge memorials
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has announced a statewide effort to memorialize fallen employees with bridge dedications.
The department plans to name bridges after PennDOT employees who died while on duty since 1970 and will work with the General Assembly to pass a naming authorization bill in the spring 2020.
“Our employees put their lives at risk every day to improve and maintain Pennsylvania’s infrastructure,” said PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards in a release. “Through this initiative, we hope to permanently honor those employees who we’ve lost in the line of duty.”
PennDOT intends to name a bridge after each fallen worker as an acknowledgement of their service to Pennsylvania. Each bridge will be marked with a sign that includes the fallen worker’s name as a visual reminder to motorists to slow down in work zones.
The statewide initiative was inspired by a similar effort completed in honor of PennDOT District 3 employee Harold “Don” Whipple, who was killed in the line of duty in 2016. A bridge in Northumberland County was memorialized in Whipple’s name earlier this year.
“PennDOT continues to honor our fallen colleagues through our Traveling Worker’s Memorial, but the bridge renaming effort will give communities a lasting monument to remember those lost and emphasize the fact that the safety of workers in a work zone depends on all of us,” said Richards.
PennDOT staff will reach out to the families of fallen employees to discuss the program and is currently working to identify families of fallen employees who the department does not have next of kin information for, due to the length of time since the employee’s passing.
A list of the names of fallen PennDOT employees statewide and additional information on the Traveling Worker’s Memorial can be found on PennDOT’s website.
• PennDOT will be closing northbound and southbound portions of
I-95 overnight this week in Chester for steel repair under a project to rehabilitate eight bridges over Interstate 95 and CSX Railroad in the city.
The work schedule will take is:
• Dec. 10, right and center lane closures on northbound I-95 between Kerlin Street and the Chestnut Street onramp to I-95 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.;
• Dec 11, left and center lane closures on northbound I-95 between Kerlin Street and the Chestnut Street onramp to I-95 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.;
• Dec 12, left and center lane closures on southbound I-95 between Interstate 476 and the Chestnut
Street Bridge Thursday, 10 p.m. to
5 a.m.; and
• Dec. 13, right and center lane closures on southbound I-95 between Interstate 476 and the Chestnut Street Bridge from 10 p.m. to
5 a.m.
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PECO Energy is also planning single lane closures this week on several state highways in the county for utility construction. All work will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The work schedule is:
• Dec. 9 through Dec. 11, lane closures with flagging on southbound Township Line Road between Darby Road and Meadowbrook Road in Haverford Township;
• Dec. 9 through Dec. 13, lane closures on Sproul Road between Radcliffe Road and Springfield Road in Marple;
• Dec. 10 through Dec. 31, weekday lane closures on Conestoga Road between Louella Avenue and
Parkes Run Lane in Radnor; and
• Dec. 9 through Dec. 13, lane closures on eastbound Lancaster Avenue between Chamounix Road and Iron Works Way in Radnor.
• PennDOT has also planned lane restrictions with flagging on Webb Road between Baltimore Pike and Hunters Lane in Chadds Ford 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Dec. 9 through Dec.
13 for tree trimming operations.
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For information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department’s Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov
Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com.
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