SEPTA’s Bridgeport Viaduct project reaches halfway mark

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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SEPTA

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) Bridgeport Viaduct project reached the 50 percent completion point.

 

Workers have installed new ties, rail, grating and handrail on the first 1,200-feet of open deck on spans 1 through 24. The remaining work on these spans includes the railing toe plate, the third rail system and guard rail.

The four month repair project to the Bridgeport Viaduct, which stands over the Schuylkill River between Bridgeport Station and the Norristown Transportation Center, will replace all of the bridge timbers along with the track level walkway and railing system to maintain service on the Norristown High Speed Line.

Since 1911, the 3,175-foot-long bridge has undergone several repairs and upgrades, but in recent years it has shown signs of deterioration. A detailed inspection in 2012 determined that the condition of the bridge’s timbers had significantly deteriorated, which prompted SEPTA to implement emergency repairs.

SEPTA has designed an extensive rehabilitation program for the Bridgeport Viaduct in order to bring the bridge into a state of good repair and to extend its service life by 40 years.

In the proposed rehabilitation program, the entire viaduct will be cleaned and painted to protect against additional corrosion and significant structural repairs will be made. However, this work will have to be performed separately at a future date when funding is available.

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