Clearfield, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that the bridge spanning the Norfolk Southern Railroad along Route 75 in Port Royal Borough will not reopen by September 1 as originally anticipated. PennDOT acknowledges the inconvenience this causes the community, particularly with the Juniata County Fair approaching, and thanked everyone for their continued patience as it works with all the stakeholders to mitigate the impact of this delay.
Throughout construction, Norfolk Southern Railroad identified several safety concerns unique to working over a railroad and recommended additional precautionary measures. PennDOT places safety above all else and chose to implement these measures, which contributed to the delay in reopening the bridge.
PennDOT is working diligently with all stakeholders to mitigate the impacts of this delay. During fair week, it will provide flaggers at the Route 35 and 333 intersection as it has for events held at the Port Royal Speedway throughout the summer. Flagging operations have successfully managed the high traffic volume at those events, so PennDOT plans to assign flaggers at more intersections along the detour route. It also intends to add more signage to the detour route, including changeable message signs, to alert fairgoers of the disruptions.
The contractor, HRI Inc., of State College, PA, will allocate additional laborers and equipment to this project when site conditions warrant to complete it as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality standards or the safety of stakeholders.
The detour around the bridge will remain in place until project completion. The detour uses Route 3002 (Old 22 Road/Main Street), Route 35, and Route 333 before returning to Route 75. This detour has functioned efficiently during this project resulting in minimal delays or traffic queueing. The contractor continues to maintain access for homeowners near the bridge.
Overall work on this $4 million project involves partial removal of the existing structure, building its replacement, approach paving, and drainage improvements. Also included are water and sewer line replacements, sidewalk and guide rail replacement, pavement markings, and miscellaneous construction.
As work progresses, PennDOT makes project information available on a dedicated web page, which includes detour mapping. Customers can find the Juniata/Mifflin project page by visiting www.PennDOT.pa.gov and clicking "Regional Offices." Once on the Regional Offices page, click the number 2, choose Construction Projects/Roadwork, then the tile that says "Juniata/Mifflin."
Preliminary work on this project started in mid-September 2022 by demolishing a two-story building on Second Street in Port Royal. PennDOT expected demolition of the bridge to begin in early January, but work coordination issues resulted in delays.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts.
Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District2.
Find PennDOT's planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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