PENNDOT AND LOCAL OFFICIALS BREAK GROUND ON MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR IMPROVEMENT OF I-95/COTTMAN AVENUE INTERCHANGE IN PHILADELPHIA

Ramp Construction, Surface Road Improvements in Tacony to Begin this Month
 
May 14, 2009 -- The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) joined state and city officials this morning to break ground for the first of two contracts for the $230 million project to reconstruct Interstate 95 at the Cottman Avenue Interchange in northeast Philadelphia.

The ceremony marked the start of work on a $31.9 million contract to build two new ramps and improve surface streets that carry traffic to, from and around the busy interstate.  The ground-breaking was held near the location where a new northbound on-ramp from Milnor Street will be built.

“We are excited to begin this critical project that will benefit both motorists and residents living near the Cottman Avenue Interchange,” PennDOT District Executive Lester B. Toaso said.  “This major investment will improve access to I-95, remove interstate-bound commuters and commercial drivers from several city streets by virtue of relocating some key ramps, and rebuild an aging stretch of the interstate that dates back to the 1960s.”

Under the first stage of construction, PennDOT will build a new southbound on-ramp from State Road near Longshore Avenue and a new northbound on-ramp from Milnor Street.

The new on-ramp to I-95 North from Milnor Street will help divert commercial traffic from adjacent residential neighborhoods by providing access to I-95 North from the river-side of the interstate.

The new State Road on-ramp, when completed, will allow PennDOT to remove the existing southbound on-ramp from Princeton Avenue and convert Princeton Avenue into a two-way street between Torresdale Avenue and State Road.  A number of traffic-calming features – bicycle lanes, bulb-out curb extensions – also will be installed along the converted stretch of Princeton Avenue.

In addition to Princeton Avenue, construction crews will improve Cottman Avenue and State Road in the vicinity of the interchange.

Crews will rebuild and convert Cottman Avenue into a two-way street – one lane eastbound, two lanes westbound – between Torresdale Avenue and State Road.  They also will lower the street to increase the clearance at the AMTRAK bridge, located just west of State Road, to 14 feet 6 inches.

The contractor also will widen and rebuild State Road to include an additional southbound lane between Princeton and Cottman avenues to facilitate traffic flow to the new ramp leading to southbound I-95.  On-street parking will be retained on the northbound side of State Road.

Work on this first contract will require some periodic and long-term lane closures and parking restrictions on Cottman and Princeton avenues, Milnor Street, State Road and New State Road within the project area. Travel on I-95 is not expected to be impacted significantly during the first stage of the project.

Tony D. Paul & Son, of Blue Bell, Montgomery County, is the general contractor on the $31,953,398 project that is financed with 90 percent federal and 10 percent state funds. This project is not funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Construction on this first stage is expected to be completed in 2011.

PennDOT expects to begin construction in 2011 on the second stage of the interchange improvement project, which will rebuild 1.4 miles of I-95 between Levick Street and Bleigh Avenue, including seven bridges.

Improvements at the Cottman Avenue Interchange are part of PennDOT’s long-range initiative to rebuild I-95, its bridges and its interchanges between I-676/Vine Street and Academy Road in Philadelphia.  PennDOT has completed the reconstruction of the interstate between Academy Road and Cottman Avenue.

More information on the I-95 projects, as well as subscriptions to e-mail bulletins and publications about the improvement plans is available at  www.95revive.com