Although work continues on the Rt. 926 bridge, a new final phase of work to raise Creek Road and Rt. 926 in Birmingham — may mean a couple of months of traffic headaches for southern Chester County.
The good news: the work is expected to be fully complete before Labor Day.
Creek Road is scheduled to close between Meetinghouse Road and Route 52 (Lenape Road) in Birmingham Township, Chester County, beginning Thursday, June 15, for construction related to an $8.6 million project to replace the structurally-deficient Route 926 (Street Road) bridge over the Brandywine Creek in Birmingham and Pocopson townships, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today. Creek Road will remain closed through mid-August.
During construction, Creek Road motorists will be detoured over U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) and Route 52 (Lenape Road). Local access on Creek Road will be maintained during the closure; however, Route 926 (Street Road) motorists will not have access to Creek Road.
PennDOT is improving Route 926 (Street Road) by replacing the 79-year-old bridge with a new three-span structure built at a higher elevation; rebuilding and raising 1,700 feet of the roadway approaches to make them less prone to flooding; replacing the nearby culvert over Radley Run with an 84-foot twin arch concrete culvert; and realigning 800 feet of Creek Road at its northern intersection with Route 926 (Street Road).
The new, aesthetically-designed bridge will be built to resemble the current structure and have stone form liners covering the piers so they resemble the existing piers. The structure also will include an open, higher railing. The new bridge is scheduled to reopen by September 1.
Following the reopening of Route 926 (Street Road), there will be one weekend in spring 2018 when Route 926 (Street Road) will close for the final resurfacing of the new bridge and culvert.
The existing four-span bridge was built in 1937 and rehabilitated in 1974. The steel I-beam structure is 190 feet long and 26 feet wide. The bridge, which is posted with a weight restriction of 26 tons and 33 tons for combination loads, carries approximately 13,200 vehicles a day.
To improve travel through the intersection of Route 52 (Lenape Road) and Pocopson Road/West Creek Road, PennDOT’s contractor activated a new traffic signal that includes a Flashing Yellow Arrow signal for left turns from Route 52 (Lenape Road) to Pocopson Road/West Chester Road, in addition to the standard red, yellow and green lights. This Flashing Yellow Arrow signal is the first to operate in the Philadelphia region.
More information on the Flashing Yellow Arrow signals and other traffic signal initiatives is available at www.penndot.gov in the Traffic Signals, Management section of “Travel in PA”.
Clearwater Construction Inc., of Mercer, Pa., is the general contractor on the $8,614,000 project financed with 100 percent state funds.
For more 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.
