Interstate 76 West Closing This Weekend In Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — PennDOT said a portion of Interstate 76 west will be closed Friday night through Monday morning due to bridge repair work.

According to PennDOT, westbound I-76 will be closed between the 34th Street off-ramp and the University Avenue on-ramp.

The closure will be in effect from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.

Officials said the closure is weather permitting.

In addition, the following ramps will be closed and detoured during the weekend closure:

• The 34th Street ramp to I-76 West.
• The South Street ramp to I-76 West.
• The I-76 West ramp to South Street.

The ramp from University Avenue to I-76 West will remain open to traffic.

During the closure of the two I-76 West bridges, the regional detour route will direct drivers to use I-95 North and I-676 West.

Local traffic will be directed to exit I-76 West at 34th Street, turn right onto Grays Ferry Avenue, turn right onto Washington Avenue, turn left onto 22nd Street, turn left onto Walnut Street, and turn right onto Schuylkill Avenue to access the ramp to I-76 West.

Weather permitting, the same section of I-76 West (Schuylkill Expressway) will be closed and detoured from 9 p.m. April 11, to 5 a.m. April 14. At least one additional weekend closure is also planned in May to complete the bridge repairs.

The weekend closures are being coordinated with the City of Philadelphia, the Sports Complex, SEPTA, and other stakeholders and transportation agencies across the region.

The closures will allow PennDOT’s contractor to repair sections of deteriorated concrete deck and resurface the structure that carries westbound I-76 over Grays Ferry Avenue, Wharton Street and Reed Street, and the adjacent structure that carries westbound I-76 over the Schuylkill River and CSX rail tracks.

Crews will perform milling operations to remove all existing latex modified concrete from the bridge decks. Crews will perform sounding operations to locate and repair deteriorated sections of concrete with a rapid set epoxy based concrete patching material.

Once repairs are completed, a highly bonding tack coat will be applied to the roadway prior to paving. Final paving will consist of a dense graded bituminous material that will reduce surface cracking, rutting, and reduce infiltration of water and road salts, providing a water proofing sealer for the bridge decks.

Drivers are advised to avoid the closure areas because significant backups will occur on I-76 West approaching the work area, and on surface streets in the vicinity of the work area and detour routes.