PennDOT expects to award a contract this month for the replacement of the Schuylkill Avenue bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad, with a long-term detour on the major southbound route in northwest Reading anticipated to begin in late summer.
The bridge in the 400 block of Schuylkill Avenue carries southbound Route 183 over the railroad tracks. Construction is anticipated to begin as early as mid-summer and be completed in late fall 2025, PennDOT district spokesman Ronald J. Young Jr. said.
Before the detour goes into effect, preliminary work including building demolition, utility relocations, Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant ramp/sidewalk construction and signal installation will be completed, he said.
Motorists and pedestrians who use Schuylkill Avenue as a route to the Penn Street Bridge and the downtown area can expect a two-year detour. As it stands, the detour is expected to be removed in the fall of 2025.
Bids for the bridge replacement were advertised May 25 and are under review, Young said.
The estimated construction cost is $5 million to $6.5 million.
Route 183 (the state route that also includes part of North Front Street) is classified as an urban arterial highway and carries 6,900 vehicles per day as well as a significant amount of pedestrian traffic.
The proposed passenger-vehicle detour is slightly more than a half-mile. It will follow West Greenwich Street, North Front Street and West Buttonwood Street.
To accommodate the detour, the two-block section of North Front Street between West Buttonwood and West Greenwich streets —currently one-way northbound for both lanes — will be temporarily converted to one lane in both directions during construction.
The 5.3-mile large-truck detour will use Route 222 to Penn Street. A 1.3-mile secondary-truck detour will use West Greenwich Street, North Fourth Street and Washington Street.
For pedestrians, the detour will follow West Green Street, North Front Street and West Buttonwood Street, a distance of about a half-mile.
The project will replace the structurally deficient three-span structure with a single-span composite prestressed concrete box-beam bridge, Young said.
Schuylkill Avenue will be raised to meet the 23-foot minimum vertical clearance requirement for the railroad, he said.
When completed, the new bridge will allow trains to travel through the underpass while carrying cargo containers stacked two-high. Currently, only one container can pass at a time.
The new abutments will be farther apart to meet railroad minimum horizontal clearance requirements of 18 feet from center of rails. At the request of the railroad, the length of the new span will be even longer to accommodate a future third track.
Curbs and sidewalks will be reconstructed and raised to reflect the roadway profile. To avoid obstructing access to walkways between buildings, step-downs from the sidewalks will be constructed.
Other proposed work includes ramp upgrades, drainage upgrades, signing, pavement markings, utility relocations and a signal upgrade at the North Front Street and West Greenwich Street intersection.
City Council passed an ordinance in December 2019 authorizing demolition of some vacant houses near the bridge.
Council members have expressed concern about the impact of the long-term detour, especially for those residents north of the bridge who already live in what is considered a food desert and will see access to grocery stores further limited.
The bridge outage will hinder access from the north to the Buttonwood Bridge into neighboring West Reading, as well as the on-ramps for Route 422, 1 1/2 miles south.
With the Schuylkill River immediately to the west, there are only so many ways to get around the affected area.
Council President Donna Reed, whose district covers northwest Reading, said Schuylkill Avenue provides quick access to the Penn Street and Buttonwood Street bridges and the West Shore Bypass — routes connecting West Reading, Wyomissing and Spring Township from her Glenside neighborhood.
She said many residents of Greenfields and Glenside use that route as an alternative to the Warren Street Bypass — Route 12 — that has a meandering interchange with Route 183 in Glenside.
“I use it at least once a day,” she said. “For me, many times it’s quicker and simpler to go down Schuylkill Avenue than the bypass to get to West Reading, Wyomissing and Shillington.”
Reed, who also serves on the Reading Area Transportation Study, which advises PennDOT on road improvements, said she has been pushing for better lighting and removal of debris and vegetation on the pedestrian bridge between West Green and Tulpehocken streets, saying she expects more people who are on foot to use that span when the detour goes into effect.
“If the lighting is good then at least that will be some kind of alternative for people who bike and walk to work,” she said.
Source: Berkshire mont
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