Design & Construction Details

Bridge Replacement Project
Northeastern Extension Milepost A-88.59

Construction Schedule

Construction Update: Fall 2024

"Big Bird" Cranes Flying South This Fall

Fall 2024 – One of the Liebherr 11000 cranes (see below), erected on-site in July 2023 and becoming an instant landmark, has been disassembled and is moving on to its next assignment.

The crane and its 500-ft boom were taken apart in early September having finished erection of the Hawk Falls arches. A second Liebherr 11000 crane will remain on the job through late September before being demobilized.

The two huge cranes were key to erecting three steel arches, the backbone of the new 720-foot Hawk Falls bridge which spans the Mud Run gorge. Due to the steepness of the slopes down to Mud Run Creek, using smaller cranes to erect the large arch ribs was not feasible. Operators of the two giant cranes worked in tandem to set the arch ribs, columns and floor beams that will support the bridge deck.

Arch bridge construction will continue through next spring with smaller cranes that are now able to travel on the partially erected structure. Activity at the work area will tail off over the remainder of 2024, resuming (and expected to finish) next spring with the return of warmer temperatures.

Since the restart of work in early spring 2024, segments of the three arches that are the key feature of the new bridge were completed. As seen by passing motorists, the remainder of the structural steel continues to rise as the columns, floor beams, and girders that comprise the rest of the structural steel are installed (see above). This work will be completed this fall. Motorists will have a great view of the construction of the bridge deck—the last step in completing the bridge construction, which started in the spring of 2021.

The northbound half of smaller bridge over Hickory Run Road (Route 534), situated immediately north of the arch bridge, has been substantially completed (see below).

The contractor plans to have the arch bridge and approach roadways ready for traffic by late spring 2025, when northbound vehicles will be shifted onto the new arch bridge and the northbound side of the new Hickory Run Road bridge. This will allow the contractor to complete the southbound half of the Hickory Run structure by next summer, when both directions of Turnpike traffic will be using the new structures.

Demolition of the existing bridge will then follow.

The new arch bridge will be four lanes wide with six-foot medians and 12-foot shoulders. It will replace the existing 738-foot-long truss bridge that is nearing the end of its design service life and is considered functionally obsolete due to a lack of shoulders.

The new bridge over Hickory Run Road (Route 534) will replace the existing three-span bridge with a one-span structure, providing a more open feel for travelers on the surface road below.

The entire project, with a construction cost of $88 million in toll-supported funds, is anticipated to be done by fall 2026 following completion of punch-list and other relatively minor construction activities.