ROAD WATCH – SEPT.14
(PennDOT Works to Preserve Stone Arch Bridges)
In an effort to preserve historic stone arch bridges while also meeting modern transportation needs, PennDOT has developed Project Keystone in the Greater Philadelphia area.
The project is a plan for managing the preservation, repair and replacement of 125 stone arch bridges at least 20-feet-long in the region.
The bridge initiative is designed to aid transportation officials when stone arch bridges are in need of repair or replacement.
“With the completion of Project Keystone, PennDOT is now better prepared to evaluate the needs of these beautiful and historic bridges,” said Les Toaso, district executive for PennDOT District 6, which covers the Greater Philadelphia area.
“As we move forward with our transportation planning, this bridge plan provides a framework to ensure safe and efficient travel throughout the region,” he said.
Recognizing that not all 125 bridges would be able to be preserved, Project Keystone first developed bridge rankings based on a set of criteria that priortized the bridges that would make the best candidates for preservation.
These criteria included the condition of the bridge, operational capacity, future growth in the area, likeliness of flooding, costs of rehabilitation, historic value and public input.
The variables were assigned a number and the bridges were ranked according to their total points, with the highest totals receiving the strongest recommendations for preservation.
The recommendations offer guidance for transportation planners when one of these bridges is programmed for rehabilitation or replacement through the Transportation Improvement Program.
A bridge manual focuses on performing preservation and maintenance work in such a way that the historic features of the bridge are not damaged.
A task force was formed in connection with the plan with representatives from PennDOT, Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission, Federal Highway Administration and Army Corps of Engineers. It will be responsible for monitoring the progress of the plan and making any necessary adjustments.
Project Keystone was recently honored as a valuable initiative with a Historic Preservation Award from Preservation PA, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of historically and architecturally significant properties.
For more information on Project Keystone, visit www.pastonearch.org.
NEW BRIDGE TOLLS TAKE EFFECT
The Delaware River Port Authority is reminding drivers that tolls on the Commodore Barry, Walt Whitman, Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross bridges became effective Sunday -- they're now $4, up a buck from $3.
Tolls for trucks and buses will also increase. Bridge tolls will go up another buck to $5 in 2010.
The last time tolls were raised was in January 2000 when they went from $2 to $3.
PATCO fares will increase 10 percent, effective 3 a.m. today.
Bridge tolls will go up another buck to $5 in 2010.
PATCO fares will be another 10 percent in September 2010, with cost of living increases every two years after that.
The last time PATCO fares were raised was in July 2001 when they went up 16 percent.
Other changes include the Consumer Credit discount for 18 or more crossings a month on the same transponder is being reduced to $12.
The Senior Citizen program toll will be $2. The commercial discount has been eliminated.
For enrolled senior citizens who have a New Jersey E-ZPass account and have registered the transponder they will be using, the toll will be $1.75 in E-ZPass only lanes.
There is also a new $1 discount for E-ZPass customers driving qualified low-emission vehicles.
Applications will be available at the E-ZPass customer service center in Camden, N.J., just north of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Applications will also be available this week in the toll lanes from toll collectors.
Further information regarding the new toll and fare hikes can be found on the DRPA’s Web site, www.drpa.org.
SEPTA
SEPTA is undergoing an infrastructure improvement project on its Regional Rail system that will impact weekend travel on select routes for eight nonconsecutive weekends.
Work began Saturday. Weekend train departures have been adjusted for R5 Paoli, R5 Doylestown, R7 Trenton, R7 Chestnut Hill East and R8 Fox Chase riders in order to accommodate the modernization project.
The project will affect riders this weekend, and the weekends of Sept. 20-21, Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5, Oct. 11-12, Oct. 18-19, Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 15-16.
Regular weekend train service will resume for passengers on these routes during the weekends of Oct. 25-26 and Nov. 8-9.
The project includes installing new track, catenary and a modern signal system in an area known as “K” interlocking, critical to operations for several SEPTA regional rail routes.
At the completion of the work, SEPTA passengers will enjoy a quieter and smoother ride as a result of new cross ties and continuous welded rail installation. Riders will also experience increased travel speeds, reduced travel times and enhanced service reliability.
SEPTA riders should pick up special supplemental schedules which will be in effect during weekends of construction.
ARDMORE AVENUE
Starting Wednesday, Aqua Pennsylvania will close Ardmore Avenue between Lancaster Avenue (Route 30) and Oakford Road in Lower Merion, Montgomery County, for water main installation by Aqua Pennsylvania.
Ardmore Avenue will be closed 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Dec. 31. It is a major connection to Haverford Township.
During construction, Ardmore Avenue through traffic will be detoured over Lancaster Avenue, West Wynnewood Road, Haverford Road and Oakford Road.
Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone.
Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the area.
RADNOR
PECO Energy will restrict County Line Road between Glenbrook Avenue and Mondella-Morris Lane in Radnor 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Sept. 24 for gas main installation, PennDOT said.
LARGEST TIRE DUMP
The remnants of what was once the largest waste tire pile in the state were loaded onto a truck and removed from the Greenwood Township, Columbia County, far, where they had threatened the public health and environment for two decades, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“The six million tires that could once be found here posed a fire threat and raised concerns about environmental quality and public health,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell.
“Additionally, because old tires are notorious for serving as mosquito breeding grounds, there was the fear of West Nile virus,” he said.
The final load of waste tires were shredded and removed Sept. 4 by Entech Inc., under a $447,000 contract from DEP in June to process and remove the 300,000 tires that remained on the property of Max and Martha Starr.
Yowell said that instead of landing up in a landfill, the tires will be used for components of asphalt or parking bumpers, or as a fuel supplement or playground surface. “This project illustrates how we can take environmental challenges and create economic opportunities,” he said.
In 1987, the state issued an order requiring the Starrs to stop accepting tires and provide an estimate of the number of tires at the site. After subsequent orders and appeals by the owners, the Starrs and DEP finalized terms of a legal agreement in March 2004 to clean up the tires that accumulated on the property on three separate parcels.
Aside from a $400,000 civil penalty for failing to remove waste tires from their property, the Starrs also had to relinquish control of the piles to DEP, but maintain liability insurance. Now that all the tires have been removed, they must sell the parcels and give the proceeds to DEP.
Five companies and Penn State University received state grants during the past four years to remove tires from the property. The department also took legal action against 20 generators who brought tires to the Starr property.
The action requested that the generators remove their share of the tires or pay a civil penalty if they did not do so in a timely fashion.
Road Watcher is gratified that this hazardous gigantic pile of old tires was finally cleaned up – what with the potential of a mammoth fire hazard. Good riddance.
Remember when all those tires and barrels of toxic chemicals caught fire and exploded at Melvin Wade’s former dump site at the foot of the Barry Bridge and a huge tire fire shut down I-95 above in Philadelphia?
TRAFFIC DELAYS
Ridley Park – Sellers Avenue, Aqua Pennsylvania water main installation, lane restrictions between Chester Pike and Ward Street 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 25. Work began Aug. 27.
Upper Darby – Burmont Road, Aqua utility installation with lane restrictions at Mary Street 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Sept. 15.
Tinicum – Wanamaker Avenue, utility installation by Aqua Pennsylvania, closed/detoured between Route 291 and Second Street, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 31. Work began July 21.
Chester Township – Concord Road, utility installation between Commerce Drive and McDonald Boulevard 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Sept. 25. Work began Feb. 19.
“Road Watch” appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.