Portion of Turnpike I-476 set to close for days

Shutdown to occur between Lehigh Valley, Mahoning Valley for bridge replacement

Motorists take heed: The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission plans to shut down an approximately 18-mile stretch of its Northeast Extension between the Lehigh Valley and Carbon County for a bridge replacement project.

As of Thursday, the commission said, the planned closure will take place over 55 hours, beginning 9 p.m. Oct. 14 through Oct 17. Bad weather could delay the project to Oct. 21-24.

The lengthy closure is needed for crews to demolish the bridge that carries the highway, Interstate 476, over Huckleberry Road in South Whitehall Township, at milepost 59.2. Workers will replace it with a steel “superstructure,”the commission said. The road will be shut down between the Lehigh Valley interchange at mile marker 56 and the Mahoning Valley interchange in Franklin Township, which is at mile marker 74.

The 90-foot-long bridge opened to traffic April 1, 1957, and carries roughly 30,000 vehicles per day.

The new superstructure, which has been under construction since March, is being built near the existing bridge, the commission said. The construction technique, known as accelerated bridge construction, eliminates the need for months or years of single-lane traffic patterns and other motorist restrictions by closing that part of the road for a limited period over a weekend.

Travelers are urged to avoid the area during the closure. For motorists who can’t, here are detours:

Southbound detour: Exit at Pocono Exit 95 and take Interstate 80 East to Route 33 South (25.5 miles). Follow Route 33 South to Route 22 West (23.6 miles). Follow Route 22 West and

reenter I-476 South at Lehigh Valley Interchange, Exit 56 (15.8 miles).

Local traffic can exit at Mahoning Valley Exit 74

and take Route 209 North to Route 33 or Route 209 South to Route 248.

Northbound detour: Exit at Lehigh Valley Exit

56; take Route 22 East to Route 33 North (16.5 miles). Follow Route 33 North to Interstate 80 West (24.5 miles). Follow Interstate

80 West and reenter I-476 at Pocono Interchange Exit 95 (25.1 miles).

Go to paturnpike.com/ ABC for more information.

MORNING CALL APRIL GAMIZ/THE Construction is seen on Huckleberry Road under Interstate 476 on Thursday in South Whitehall Township. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission plans to shut down about 18 miles of its northeast extension between the Lehigh Valley and Carbon County over 55 hours Oct. 14-17 for replacement of the bridge carrying the highway over Huckleberry Road.