Credit: Montgomery County.
A construction project to replace Montgomery County Bridge 269 on Easton Road over Sandy Run has been delayed.
The project was supposed to begin on Monday, March 3, however, due to concerns and traffic issues in the surrounding area due to the SPS Technologies fire, it will now most likely be pushed back until this summer.
“In a small win, Commissioner Bole and I worked with Governor Shapiro's office to persuade SEPTA to delay the Easton Road bridge replacement project that was scheduled to begin,” Abington Township Commissioner Matt Vahey said. “The project would have required the closure of Easton Road for six weeks which seemed untenable with the closure of Highland Avenue and the traffic issues. The project will likely proceed this summer when vacations lower traffic volume and when we have more time to plan. I want to thank Governor Shapiro for his support. I have been in regular communication with the Governor and his team since the fire. We are very fortunate to have a strong and reliable ally in Harrisburg.”
Abington Police and Abington commissioners have established a detour to redirect typical Highland Avenue traffic away from smaller interior roads. This will create a higher volume of traffic and will make construction more difficult to complete.
Starting this week, crews from Loftus Construction were supposed to be on site in Glenside at the railroad station to prep platform repairs. Instead, this work will be delayed for the next few months.
Bridge 269, built in 1930 and widened in 1970, is a single-span structure comprised of reinforced concrete pipes, reinforced concrete slab and stone masonry arch. The proposed replacement is a cast-in-place concrete box culvert replacing the stone masonry arch section.
The long-term schedule is to install a support of excavation, place formwork, and pour concrete for the slab. The stream will then be temporarily flowing through flume pipes through the culvert section, which will allow further formwork to be installed and the remaining concrete elements to be poured and cured.
