Detour Routes for Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project during Week of May 20

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Total Project Area: 4.4 miles along I-95 from Yardley-Newtown Road/Route 332 Interchange (Exit 49) in Pennsylvania to Bear Tavern Road/Route 579 (Exit 2) in New Jersey

Major Project Elements:

  • Replace the current congestion-prone, functionally obsolete Scudder Falls Bridge with a dual-span structure carrying six thru-traffic lanes (three in each direction) and three auxiliary lanes (two northbound, one southbound) for traffic merging onto and off the bridge.
  • Widen to the inside the bridge’s Pennsylvania I-95 approach, increasing the roadway to three lanes in each direction.
  • Reconstruct the entire I-95/Route 29 Interchange (Exit 1) and its associated ramps and structures in Ewing, N.J.
  • Reconfigure the I-95/Taylorville Road Interchange (Exit 51) in Lower Makefield, PA.
  • Erect noise-abatement walls where warranted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (PA noise walls began in 2016)
  • Improve/expand drainage and approach-roadway exit/entry transitions in New Jersey.
  • Construct a pedestrian/bicycle walkway on the new bridge’s upstream side, connecting the recreational canal towpaths in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
  • Install an all-electronic tolling (AET) gantry and related infrastructure for highway-speed toll collection along the new bridge’s southbound lanes through E-ZPass tag readers and high-speed video cameras for license-plate billing.
  • Mitigate environmental impacts from construction to protect shortnose sturgeon, red-bellied turtles, Indiana bats, yellow lampmussels, wetlands, and other natural and cultural resources.

Electronic Tolling Start (southbound only):  Sometime in 2019.

Estimated Full Project Duration: 4-1/2 years

Learn More

Project Progress Photos (click on photo below)

Project Progress Archives

 

Project Videos

Project Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXq9L3Jm7iw

AET Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_8BEokUrw

Travel Advisory -- Week of May 20

The full schedule of travel restrictions for the week of May 20 is as follows:

New Jersey side  

  • Route 175/River Road - DAYTIME Intermittent alternating single-lane travel controlled by flaggers 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, May 21, to Thursday, May 24; AND OVERNIGHT full closure with posted detour of roadway and access ramp to I-295 south/I-95 north 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Monday, May 21, and Tuesday, May 22
  • Route 29 Northbound Bypass of I-295/I-95 Interchange - Closed with posted detour through the interchange 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (next day) Wednesday, May 23, and Thursday, May 24

Pennsylvania side

  • Woodside Rd. (west of Taylorsville Rd.) - Eastbound traffic only 24/7 until May 31 (revised date); see map of posted detour routes in Public Outreach section of this website 
  • I-95 noth from the Route 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (Exit 49) to the Scudder Falls Bridge – Intermittent single-lane travel configurations 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. (following day) Monday, May 21, through Thursday, May 24
  • I-95 south from the Scudder Falls Bridge to the Route 332/Newtown-Yardley interchange (exit 49) – Intermittent single-lane travel configurations 8 p.m. to 2 p.m. (next day) Monday, May 21, through Thursday, May 24 (note: any Thursday overnight lane closures must end 6 a.m. Friday, May 25, for Memorial Day weekend travel period)
  • Taylorsville Rd. (Lower Makefield, PA) in vicinity of I-95 - Intermittent single-lane patterns 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, May 21, to Thursday, May 24
  • River Road/Route 32 – Intermittent alternating single-lane travel controlled by flaggers 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, May 21, to Thursday, May 24

Memorial Day Holiday Weekend: Aside from the round-the-clock westbound travel prohibition on Woodside Road in Lower Makefield, PA, all project-related lane closures are required by contract to be lifted for the Memorial Day weekend travel period -- 6 a.m. Friday, May 25, to noon, Tuesday, May 29.

 

Construction Update - Week of May 20

Major project construction tasks for the week of May 20 include:

  • PA I-95 highway median - Install retaining walls and slab; resume subgrade/subbase construction and paving.
  • PA I-95/Taylorsville Rd. interchange (Exit 51) - Ramp construction and drainage; traffic signal and lightpole foundation/conduit installation; resume staged construction including piles for I-95 bridge across Taylorsville Road.
  • Woodside Road-Taylorsville Road intesection -- Waterline installation.
  • Woodside Road west of Taylorsville Road - Roadway construction/drainage activities.
  • PA I-95 approach to Scudder Falls Bridge (work area between River Rd./Route 32 and Taylorsville Rd./Exit 51) - Continue wall construction in area of bridge monitor/AET building and install piles for this building; remove cofferdam/ restore area of outfall of 72-inch jack and bore pipe.
  • Pennsylvania side of replacement bridge's upstream span (vicinity of River and Woodside roads and in Delaware River) – Cure pier caps, repair top of footing and backfill at land-based bridge pier (Pier 1); cure concrete for footing and continue formwork/rebar for columns at first in-water pier (Pier 2); begin drilled shafts at second in-water pier (Pier 3); begin installing formwork/rebar for columns at third water-based pier (Pier 4).
  • I-295/Route 29 interchange (Exit 76, old exit 1) area – Resume roadway construction/drainage within various interchange ramps; noise abatement wall construction; form/rebar/concrete construction for backwall, and resume mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) panel installation; install remaining girders and begin deck formwark for new interchange ramp structure.