Second phase of $8M Berks bridge project begins

The second phase of an $8.37 million project to replace two Berks County bridges has begun. Both bridges on the road – which normally gets 4,500 vehicles per day – will remain closed except for limited local access.

J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen is general contractor on the project to replace the structurally deficient River Bridge Road over the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Amity Township and the River Bridge Road Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Amity and Union townships.

Phase one of the project began in May and concluded last week.

That work involved replacing the bridge over Norfolk Southern Railroad and also constructing new roadway approaches, new sidewalks and a retaining wall with a sidewalk to accommodate access to the Thun Trail.

Beginning this week, Eckman Inc. has begun rehabilitating the bridge over the Schuylkill River. This will include replacing the superstructure of deck and beams, reconstructing roadway approaches and other miscellaneous construction.

Until work is complete on both bridges, River Bridge Road will be closed and detoured between U.S. Route 422 and Pennsylvania Route 724. With the completion of the first phase on the bridge over the railroad, local access will be improved. However, the posted detour remains in place and will route traffic onto Route 422 and Route 724.

The project is expected to be completed by July 2015.

Source: LVB.com