PennDot cancels planned Schuykill closing because of ‘inferior’ asphalt
Materials were tested from the contractor’s asphalt plant before going forward and found to be lacking, officials said. The closures are still planned for the next three weekends.
The first of four planned weekend closings of the Schuylkill Expressway in South Philly for bridge deck repairs was canceled due to “inferior” asphalt, a PennDot spokesperson said.
The four-weekend closure was planned to allow PennDot crews to repair and resurface deteriorated concrete sections of the bridge that carries the Schuylkill Expressway over the Schuylkill and the CSX rail tracks, and the bridge structure over Grays Ferry Avenue, Wharton Street, and Reed Street in Grays Ferry.
But just hours before the first closing, scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Monday, PennDot announced it was canceled.
Brad Rudolph, PennDot deputy communications director, said materials were tested from the contractor’s asphalt plant before going forward and found to be lacking.
“It just didn’t meet the specs that we wanted for the asphalt,” he said. “We didn’t want to use an inferior product.”
The contractor is the Haines & Kibblehouse (H & K) Group, he said. “They laid a test strip down to see how it would function, and they didn’t like how it functioned,” Rudolph said. “It comes from the contractor’s plant. It’s made right before you use it.”
He said the closings were planned to go forward as announced for the next three weekends, beginning 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, until 4 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 30.
I-76 East will be closed from the Grays Ferry Avenue/University Avenue ramp, also known as Exit 346B, to just before the 34th Street on-ramp. All ramps to and from I-76 East will remain open during the closures.
That same section of highway will be closed the following two weekends, coinciding with an Eagles home game Oct. 13 and the start of the Phillies postseason.
Rudolph said it remains to be seen if PennDot will have to tack on another weekend because of this weekend’s cancellation. Officials are hoping it can now be accomplished in three weekends.
“It takes a lot of planning to get this done,” Rudolph said. “There’s coordination between the city and sports complex. And it’s weather dependent.”