October 15, 2021 – Following completed construction of two new bridges carrying northbound Interstate 95 over Comly Street and Van Kirk Street this summer, the contractor is now paving the widened section of northbound I-95 at the northern end of the Bridge Street Interchange. Retaining wall construction along the project area also nears completion.
Early this fall, installation of drainage components finished and crews removed construction debris from the existing northbound lanes to prepare for the placement of new concrete travel lanes. Once paving is completed late in 2021, three lanes of I-95 traffic in each direction will be shifted onto the rebuilt northbound side and median while the contractor begins southbound construction.
New southbound bridges over Comly and Van Kirk streets will be built during the next phase as well.
Construction of a new retaining wall along the northbound side of the interstate continues and is expected to be completed later this year.
Southbound and northbound I-95 are reduced to three lanes each from just south of the Cottman Avenue Interchange through the Bridge Street exit during this stage and future stages of the three-year BS1 project. Three travel lanes in each direction will remain open during peak travel times, though periodic off-peak lane closures may be in place on I-95 during certain stages of construction operations.
All on and off-ramps at the Bridge Street Interchange will remain open during BS1 construction.
Work on this project is being done in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which will include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and jobsite cleaning protocols, management of entries to the jobsite, special signage, and relevant training.
Motorists are advised to allow extra time for travel through the work areas.
Section BS1 is the first of two contracts to reconstruct mainline I-95 at the Bridge Street Interchange. A second mainline reconstruction project at the interchange, Section BS2, is currently in design and will move to construction following completion of Section BS1 in late 2022.
The H&K Group, Inc. of Skippack, Montgomery County, is the project’s general contractor.
