Skip to main content

I-70 Overpass to be replaced by July of 2011 - is a six lane I-70 possible?

Image
By
PennDot quickly announced it's plans to rebuilt the Kammerer Interchange overpass that was destroyed by an over-height vehicle last week.  The new bridge that will carry McIlvanie Road over Interstate 70 should be re-opened in July of next year.

The new bridge will also be longer, wider, and higher.  The old bridge was built in the 1950s with a 14'9" clearance.  The new bridge will be built to modern interstate standards, and that means a higher vertical clearance of 16'6".  The cost will be between $4-$8 million.  The design-build contract will go out to bid on November 4th.

In the comments section of the original blog entry, Steve Williams suggested that PennDOT should bill the trucking company, driver, and insurance company for the cost to replace the bridge.  And according to PennDOT's Joe Szczur, they will be doing exactly that.  In the meantime, PennDOT is using emergency funds for the bridge replacement.

The new bridge will also be longer.  It will be built to accommodate a six lane I-70.  However, PennDOT doesn't have any concrete plans at the moment for widening the nearly sixty year old highway.  No word either if the replacement bridge will include a slight reconfiguration (wider) of the Kammerer Interchange.

Story Link:
Razed bridge's replacement set for July  ---Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Commentary:

My biggest takeaway from the article wasn't that PennDOT plans on billing the trucking company for the replacement bridge - or that it would be to modern interstate standards.  Common sense pretty much dictates that.  It was that the bridge will be built to accommodate a six lane I-70 that stuck out to me.

A six lane I-70 was first brought up in the 1970s.  This new I-70 would be built on a parallel alignment to the North.  However, the PennDOT fiscal crisis of the mid-70s killed any movement on that project.

So are there plans on the table for widening I-70 to six lanes? No, there is not.  Jon Schmitz of the Post-Gazette wrote me back and confirmed that there are not any immediate plans to widen the highway to six lanes.  The new bridge will have a 100 year life span, so hey why not build it to six lanes just in case that ever happens - and if the state ever has the money for it.

Right now PennDOT does have plans to do some safety improvements for I-70 which includes having a wider median, shoulders, and extending ramps where possible.  An example of this is currently underway at the Eight Four interchange with PA 519.  The interchange is being rebuilt and redesigned, and the highway is being widened to include a 10' median w/concrete barrier and 12' wide shoulders. But nothing about six lanes.

In order for a six lane I-70 to be possible, it's going to have to be tolled.  The right-of-way acquisition, interchange rebuilds, and more importantly the replacement of two lengthy bridges.  The Speers over the Monongahela and the Smithton High Level over the Youghbare going to put a six lane widening of I-70 from washing to New Stanton well into the billions of dollars.  and there's no real possibility of funding coming from traditional sources at this time.

So will we ever see a six lane I-70, I doubt it.  But that one line means PennDOT somewhere has an idea for it.
Labels:

Comments

Brian said…
Most overpass reconstructions these days are designed to accommodate expanded roadways whether or not there are any widening plans in the near term, so it shouldn't be all that shocking that PennDOT would rebuild to better standards. They should be doing that, especially considering that they should be recouping the cost from insurance. It would be foolish for them to rebuild to the current standard (permissible when the result of an accident) and then have to bear the full cost should they have to expand later.
1:29 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned Fowler Avenue in Clovis, California

By
Originally Fowler Avenue in the city of Clovis had a brief discontinuation approaching Herndon Avenue.  Fowler Avenue traffic heading northbound was required to detour briefly onto westbound Herndon Avenue.  During 2001 this discontinuation was removed when Fowler Avenue was reconfigured to access the Sierra Freeway (California State Route 168) via an interchange.  This led to a segment of the original alignment of Fowler Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue to be abandoned.  Despite a shopping center opening over part of the original Fowler Avenue alignment in 2016 much of the abandoned roadway remains.   The history of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue in Clovis The original alignment of California State Route 168 departed downtown Clovis eastbound along Tollhouse Road.  This original alignment did not interact with Fowler Avenue at the Herndon Avenue intersection.  Fowler Avenue north of Tollhouse Road ran north to Herndon Avenue...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more