The final phase of the I-495 bridge project remains on schedule.
An update from the Delaware Department of Transportation confirmed that barring any problems, the northbound lanes should be open by Labor Day Weekend.
The southbound lanes of I-495 through Wilmington opened a month ahead of schedule after the successful realignment of the southbound lanes of the I-495 Bridge over the Christina River.
Delaware Secretary of Transportation Shailen Bhatt last week made the surprise announcement that came a month ahead of early estimates.
The high profile closing has made national news with President Obama using the bridge as a backdrop to an announcement about about a proposal use private funds in infrastructure projects.
The dumping of dirt near the piers has been blamed as the reason for the closing.
Project planners had initially said the southbound lanes would be closed to traffic until the Labor Day holiday weekend, and the northbound lanes would be open two weeks to one month later.
Work to bore and construct new underground support columns moved more rapidly than anticipated and the process to jack the bridge into alignment took about three days to complete.
“A lot of hard work remains to fully reopen the highway, but this is an important milestone in the project,” said Governor Markell. “I thank Secretary Bhatt, the entire project team at DelDOT and all of the workers who continue to work around the clock to safely complete repairs as quickly as possible. I’m also grateful to Senators Carper and Coons and Congressman Carney for helping to secure the federal funding for this bridge, which is a vital economic link for travel in Delaware and along the northeast corridor.”
I-495 has been closed to traffic since June 2 when the interstate was shut down due to an unsafe bridge condition in both directions of travel. The 4,800 foot bridge normally carries about 90,000 vehicles per day.
Realigning the tilted bridge has been an effort between DelDOT, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, AECOM and J.D. Eckman, Inc.Delaware-based subcontractors and construction trades have also been employed on the project, which has an estimated cost of $35 million. The Federal Highway Administration will pay the entire cost.
Delaware’s congressional delegation was instrumental in helping to secure emergency relief funding from the Federal Highway Administration that will pay one hundred percent of the costs to reopen the Interstate.
“Reopening the southbound lanes of I-495 in less than 60 days is only possible because of the tremendous teamwork we have had from day one,” said Bhatt. “DelDOT staff and our engineering and construction partners have literally worked around the clock to make this day happen. They were aided by the fact that all the necessary personnel, materials and equipment converged on the project site from all over the United States when needed. Although the job is not yet finished, I am grateful for all of the hard work that continues to be done by everyone involved.”
