[PRCo] Re: Route 18 bridge to be removed

[Mark McGuire]

  Could someone please point this out to me on a map? I'm a little confused. Thanks in advance. 


---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Edward H. Lybarger" <trams2 at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Route 18 bridge to be removed
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 13:47:58 -0500

This, of course, is directly adjacent to the fill that replaced the highway
bridge over the Washington Interurban.  PRCo was absolutely certain that
they'd be able to walk away from that structure, but the Department of
Highways had other ideas. 

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Derrick
Brashear
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 12:02 PM
To: Pittsburgh Railways Group
Subject: [PRCo] Route 18 bridge to be removed

Looks like the bridge where the railroad adjacent to the line at Tylerdale's
gonna be removed.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/localnews/11-06-2009--Route-18-bridge

Route 18 bridge to be removed

By Kathie O. Warco, Staff writer, kwarco at observer-reporter.com

A bridge on Route 18 (Henderson Avenue) that spans what used to be a
railroad line at the Washington-Canton Township line will soon be history.
Representatives of the state Department of Transportation on Wednesday
presented plans for the removal of the bridge near the Washington Estates
trailer park at an open house at the Canton Township recreation hall. The
area will be backfilled, eliminating the need for a bridge.

"We'll also be dropping the road by as much as seven feet," said Andrew
Benchek, project manager for PennDOT. "That will allow us to widen the road
to 11-foot lanes and a four-foot shoulder."

The project will be bid in January. The work will be done later that year.

Because of the design of the concrete girder floor beam bridge, the work
will necessitate the closure of Route 18 for four to six weeks, Benchek
said.
"We will develop a construction schedule that is very aggressive,"
Benchek said. "We realize we need to consider school bus routes and the
Washington County Fair."

"We want to be aggressive and push the envelope on this," he added.
"We may set a milestone date for the contractor to have the work done."

Benchek said that the average daily number of vehicles on that stretch of
road is 13,374. The detour will take traffic coming into Washington from the
Hickory area onto Oak Grove Road. Traffic will turn right on North Main
Street in South Strabane Township to West Chestnut Street in Washington and
back to Jefferson Avenue.

"We were very mindful of the amount of traffic," Benchek said. "We felt this
was the best solution."

Access to the businesses and homes in the area will be maintained.

Benchek said that removing the bridge and replacing it with the fill is more
cost-effective.

"There is no longer a railroad underneath so there is no need for a
structure," Benchek said. "We are saving at least $1 million by not
replacing the bridge. Plus we don't have to worry about maintaining it."





--
Derrick

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