I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges

County: Clarion
State Route: SR0080-365 (Interstate 80)
Local Name: I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges
Project Type: Bridge Replacement, Culvert Rehabilitation
Design and Construction Cost: $252.2 million
Anticipated Construction Start: Fall 2023
Anticipated Bridge Completion: Fall 2027
Designer: Michael Baker International
Last Updated: December 2023 

Detour Information

No detour route is planned for I-80 during project construction. However, there may be some short-term intermittent detours on Tippecanoe Road. Detours will be communicated as needed throughout the project. 

The I-80 Canoe Creek bridges are dual multi-span structures (one eastbound and one westbound) that were built in 1966, were extended in 1985 and underwent multiple retrofits for fatigue-induced cracking since 2013. These bridges cross over Canoe Creek and Tippecanoe Road (SR 4005) in Beaver Township, Clarion County. Combined, they will carry an estimated average of 30,100 vehicles per day by 2025. About 50 percent of the traffic over these bridges is truck traffic.

The purpose of the I-80 Canoe Creek Bridges project is to provide a safe and reliable crossing of I-80 over Canoe Creek and Tippecanoe Road. The project is intended to replace the existing structures and update the roadway within the project limits to meet current design criteria and improve safety along the corridor. While both bridges have been repaired several times throughout their lifespan, recent inspections show the westbound bridge is in poor condition, and the eastbound bridge is in fair condition.

The project includes the total replacement of both the eastbound and westbound Canoe Creek bridges, as well as improved roadway alignment and geometry. The limits of the project extend approximately three miles on I-80, from the Knox interchange over the bridges to a pair of weigh stations near milepost 56.5. Part of the project also includes the rehabilitation of an existing reinforced concrete arch culvert (Thompson Hill Arch Culvert) that carries an unnamed tributary to Canoe Creek under I-80. The existing wingwalls at the inlet and outlet of the culvert are deteriorated and will be replaced. In addition, a reinforced concrete slab will be constructed along the floor of the culvert to prevent further scour of the streambed within the limits of the culvert.

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The Major Bridge P3 (MBP3) was approved by the Pennsylvania P3 board in November 2020, for the replacement or rehabilitation of nine major interstate bridges through a progressive P3 delivery model. At that time, PennDOT planned to make annual payments to pay for the work and financing costs on these bridges using mandatory tolling, as was permitted by the Pennsylvania P3 law at the time. Since that time, Act 84 of 2022 amended the P3 law to eliminate mandatory tolling of existing free lanes. The Act also preserved the department's ability to continue the MBP3 and move forward with the Predevelopment Agreement (PDA) with Bridging Pennsylvania Partners.  In August 2022, PennDOT chose to move the bridge projects in the MBP3 forward without tolling and pay for the project(s) using existing funds to make annual payments to the development entity over 35 years. 

This bridge was one of six bridges in Package 1 to be delivered via the MBP3. A Categorical Exclusion (CE) Reevaluation was prepared by PennDOT and approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The approved CE Reevaluation evaluated and documented how the project build alternative without tolling would affect the surrounding community and environment.