Design & Construction Details

Construction Schedule

Construction Update: Summer 2025

Deck Construction Advancing on New Hawk Falls Bridge

Summer 2025 – Deck construction continues this summer on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s new, 720-foot Hawk Falls bridge that carries the Northeast Extension over Mud Run gorge at milepost A88.6 in Carbon County.

Concrete deck placement (see below) began in June, following more than three years of construction to build the bridge’s foundations and erect the distinctive steel arches that will carry Turnpike motorists over the scenic gorge.

The deck is being placed in a checkerboard pattern to ensure the arch is loaded symmetrically. The contractor is using an added piece of equipment—a special conveyor that can reach across the gap between the two bridges. Utilizing the northbound right lane, the concrete mixer truck can unload directly onto the conveyor, allowing the concrete to be placed anywhere on the deck.

The northbound half of the adjacent bridge over Hickory Run Road (Route 534), situated immediately north of the arch bridge, is already substantially completed.

Paving crews will complete placement of the realigned approach and connecting roadway (see below) this summer before shifting northbound traffic permanently onto the northbound side through the mile-long project area later this summer.

After the shift, the contractor will begin work to complete the southbound half of the new Hickory Run structure and related roadway work by spring 2026, when southbound Turnpike traffic will be shifted onto the new structures.

Once both directions of Turnpike traffic are shifted into its new permanent alignment, demolition of the existing gorge bridge will follow, substantially completing the $88 million toll-funded upgrade of the Turnpike’s infrastructure in late 2026.

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 Trumbull Corp. is the Turnpike’s general contractor for this project.

Project Map

Click on the maps below for a larger and more detailed version.

Project Photo Album