January 12, 2023 – Median reconstruction now underway on Interstate 95 at the northern end of the Bridge Street Interchange will finish this spring, substantially completing the Section BS1 project and setting the stage for the start of Section BS2 mainline reconstruction and total reconstruction and relocation of the on-off ramps at Bridge Street.
Section BS1 southbound reconstruction of the I-95 travel lanes between Levick and Carver streets (see below) — including replacement of southbound bridges over Comly Street and VanKirk Street — wrapped-up last fall prior to the start of median work, the project’s final stage. The northbound pavement and new bridges were built under the previous stage of the $79.7 million Section BS1 contract that finished in late 2021.
PennDOT’s contractor on Section BS2 began early-stage clearing and utility work on surface streets in the area between Carver and Margaret streets last fall. Some work may take place on I-95 as conditions permit over the winter in the vicinity of the interchange as the contractor begins preparations for installing a new traffic pattern that will be in place during three years of upcoming BS2 construction.
Prior to beginning mainline work, the BS2 contractor will permanently close the existing northbound off-ramp to Bridge Street (Exit 27) in late March to begin retaining wall construction related to the replacement of the viaducts that carry I-95 over Bridge and Tacony streets. The contractor may complete mainline work zone paving and the installation of a construction barrier prior to the ramp closing.
When the northbound ramp permanently closes, northbound I-95 traffic heading for Bridge Street, Tacony Street, and Harbison Avenue will begin using the off-ramp to Aramingo Avenue at the immediately adjacent Betsy Ross Bridge/Aramingo Avenue Interchange.
Improvements already in place at the Betsy Ross interchange were designed to replace the closed Bridge Street ramp. They include widening Aramingo Avenue between Wheatsheaf Lane and Church Street and construction of the Adams Avenue Connector, both completed in 2020. This work was designed to improve safety and mobility at the currently congested merge point between the off-ramp and surface streets at the Bridge Street Interchange.
During all upcoming work on Sections BS1 and BS2, 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.
However, a number of different traffic patterns will be in place on the surface streets at the interchange (Bridge Street, Tacony Street, Aramingo Avenue) during BS2 construction which also includes the replacement of the I-95 viaduct at the interchange and relocation of the southbound off-ramp to James Street.
Motorists are advised to allow extra time for travel through all I-95 work areas.
The H&K Group, Inc. of Skippack, Montgomery County, is the Section BS1 general contractor. James J. Anderson Construction, of Philadelphia, is the general contractor on the $267.9 million Section BS2 contract.
