(For PA 318 and I-376) PennDOT - District 1 News: Route 318 and Interstate 376 Eastbound Closed in Mercer County (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2232)
PennDOT - District 1 News: Route 318 Bridge over Interstate 376 Eastbound in Mercer County to be Removed Following Crash
(https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalOffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2233)
QuoteInterstate 376 eastbound will remain closed until the removal is complete, which is expected to be within a week. Traffic is being detoured off the interstate right before the bridge and reenters the interstate at the nearby on-ramp.
A reopening date for Route 318 will be determined once PennDOT officials decide on the next steps to either repair or replace the entire structure. The detour for Route 318 is posted using Route 18 and Interstate I-376 westbound.
Apparently, the overpass's vertical clearance is only 14 feet, whereas Interstate Standards requires vertical clearances of 16 feet. Maybe the overpass can be reconstructed and raised to conform with Interstate Standards, which should have been done before the PA 60 freeway/tollway became part of Interstate 376 in 2009. Are there any other substandard segments of old 60 along the 376 corridor? Maybe in time, they can be reconstructed to meet modern design standards.
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on December 07, 2023, 06:40:58 PM
Apparently, the overpass's vertical clearance is only 14 feet, whereas Interstate Standards requires vertical clearances of 16 feet. Maybe the overpass can be reconstructed and raised to conform with Interstate Standards, which should have been done before the PA 60 freeway/tollway became part of Interstate 376 in 2009. Are there any other substandard segments of old 60 along the 376 corridor? Maybe in time, they can be reconstructed to meet modern design standards.
Clarified vertical clearance via GSV. (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1777471,-80.4395799,3a,75y,335.42h,82.85t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfxgsVS_y1Y2RYgPBViR_zQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu)
OSM now updated.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/144886915#map=18/41.17842/-80.43953
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on December 07, 2023, 06:40:58 PM
Apparently, the overpass's vertical clearance is only 14 feet, whereas Interstate Standards requires vertical clearances of 16 feet. Maybe the overpass can be reconstructed and raised to conform with Interstate Standards, which should have been done before the PA 60 freeway/tollway became part of Interstate 376 in 2009. Are there any other substandard segments of old 60 along the 376 corridor? Maybe in time, they can be reconstructed to meet modern design standards.
The height limit without a permit is 13 feet 6 inches. Either the truck was not in compliance or violated its permit. There should have been 8 inches (or more) of clearance as the 14' 2" height is at the right shoulder eastbound. Westbound has a 14'0" clearance at its left shoulder.
I presume PennDOT was granted a design exception at the time of conversion to I-376. The conversion included adding missing ramps at the PA 318 interchange which facilitate bypassing the bridge. Preemptively replacing the bridge when it had served for 50 years without issue, cleared the standard legal vehicle height, and could easily be bypassed would have been silly, especially since there was unlikely to be any change in traffic mix as a result of the redesignation.
Since the bridge is 57 years old, I would imagine PennDOT will just do a full replacement at this point rather than just replacing the damaged span. Both PA 318 and I-376 are climbing hills at the bridge, so it will be interesting to see how they try to eek out a couple more feet of clearance on a replacement.
Quote from: Bitmapped on December 08, 2023, 07:55:59 AM
Both PA 318 and I-376 are climbing hills at the bridge, so it will be interesting to see how they try to eek out a couple more feet of clearance on a replacement.
The way I'm seeing things, southbound 376 takes a slight dip just before the bridge, and northbound looks to be a few feet higher than southbound at the bridge.
318 appears to be on a continuous climb from west to east, so adjusting that vertical profile would indeed be problematic. But I think they might be able to do something with 376, though it of course would add to the cost and complexity of the replacement.
Quote from: Bitmapped on December 08, 2023, 07:55:59 AM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on December 07, 2023, 06:40:58 PM
Apparently, the overpass's vertical clearance is only 14 feet, whereas Interstate Standards requires vertical clearances of 16 feet. Maybe the overpass can be reconstructed and raised to conform with Interstate Standards, which should have been done before the PA 60 freeway/tollway became part of Interstate 376 in 2009. Are there any other substandard segments of old 60 along the 376 corridor? Maybe in time, they can be reconstructed to meet modern design standards.
The height limit without a permit is 13 feet 6 inches. Either the truck was not in compliance or violated its permit. There should have been 8 inches (or more) of clearance as the 14' 2" height is at the right shoulder eastbound. Westbound has a 14'0" clearance at its left shoulder.
I presume PennDOT was granted a design exception at the time of conversion to I-376. The conversion included adding missing ramps at the PA 318 interchange which facilitate bypassing the bridge. Preemptively replacing the bridge when it had served for 50 years without issue, cleared the standard legal vehicle height, and could easily be bypassed would have been silly, especially since there was unlikely to be any change in traffic mix as a result of the redesignation.
Since the bridge is 57 years old, I would imagine PennDOT will just do a full replacement at this point rather than just replacing the damaged span. Both PA 318 and I-376 are climbing hills at the bridge, so it will be interesting to see how they try to eek out a couple more feet of clearance on a replacement.
The damage is from a truck that had its hydraulic bed up. Looks pretty bad: some photos from the local newspaper (https://www.sharonherald.com/news/update-truck-hits-route-318-bridge-over-i-376-section-to-be-removed/article_f9a7912c-9539-11ee-824d-f31a05bb7c31.html) show a piece of metal from the truck piercing through the asphalt.
(For I-376) PennDOT - District 1 News: Interstate 376 Eastbound Reopened in Mercer County (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2234)
(For I-376 and PA 318) PennDOT - District 1 News: Shapiro Administration Praises Coordinated Effort During Crash, Emergency Bridge Removal over Interstate 376 (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalOffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2249)
At least the new overpass will have enough vertical clearance (16 feet 6 inches) to meet current design requirements. Hopefully, an incident like this doesn't happen again, at least at this location.
(For PA 318) PennDOT - District 1 News: PennDOT Announces Plans Display for Route 318 Bridge Replacement Project in Mercer County (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2302)
CE Expert System Update from 1-18-2024: https://www.dotdom2.state.pa.us/ceea/ceeamain03.nsf/18c042d1dacb327c85256c010051898b/85257fc4007728ec85258a940055e698?OpenDocument
CE Expert System Update from 1-29-2024: https://www.dotdom2.state.pa.us/ceea/ceeamain03.nsf/18c042d1dacb327c85256c010051898b/85257fc4007728ec85258aa800491a9d?OpenDocument
CE Expert System Update from 2-23-2024: https://www.dotdom2.state.pa.us/ceea/ceeamain03.nsf/18c042d1dacb327c85256c010051898b/85257fc4007728ec85258ac500477172?OpenDocument
(For I-376 and PA 318) PennDOT - District 1 News: Route 318 Bridge Replacement Project in Mercer County Moving Forward with Bid Opening (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2323)
(For I-376 and PA 318) PennDOT - District 1 News: Replacement of the Route 318 Bridge in Shenango Township, Mercer County Started Today (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2356)
(For I-376 and PA 318) PennDOT - District 1 News: Interstate 376 Westbound near the Route 318 Bridge in Mercer County to be Closed Starting Tonight (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2362)
(For I-376 and PA 318) PennDOT - District 1 News: Interstate 376 Reopened near the Route 318 Bridge in Mercer County (https://www.penndot.pa.gov/regionaloffices/district-1/pages/details.aspx?newsid=2363)