Route 291 over Conrail Bridge Replacement

The proposed project involves replacing the state-owned dual six-span steel girder bridge on Route 291 (Governor Printz Boulevard) in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The existing bridge carries Route 291 over a Conrail Railroad, a gravel access road, and an unnamed drainage channel. The project site is adjacent to the Philadelphia Airport Parking Lot and the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge. The existing bridge is in poor condition and undergoes full-depth inspection at a six-month interval. The existing deck and superstructure have required repairs in recent years. The median guide rail was removed and replaced with a concrete barrier recently after impact damage rendered it unserviceable. 

The replacement project will provide for a two-span continuous steel multi-girder bridge in the same location. The proposed bridge will be on the same horizontal alignment as the existing structure and will accommodate two 12’-0” lanes, an 8’-0” shoulder in the Westbound direction, and an 8'-0" shoulder on the Eastbound side that will be used for a future shared-use path trail connection. The trail connection will be built by another organization after the complete construction of this bridge project. The vertical alignment of Route 291 is being increased to provide the required vertical clearance over the Conrail Railroad. Construction will utilize staged construction consisting of replacing the Westbound side of the existing bridge while one lane of traffic in each direction is maintained on the existing bridge. Once the new Westbound side is completed one lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained on the new structure while the Eastbound side is constructed. In addition to the bridge replacement, the project will include the following: ​​​

• Approximately 270'-0" of full-depth pavement reconstruction to the West and 320'-0" of full-depth pavement reconstruction to the East.
• Installation of new roadway signs.
• New pavement markings.
• New guiderail.
• Four inlets, two on each approach will be installed in the shoulders of SR 291 to accommodate drainage of the new bridge.
• Traffic signal upgrades will be provided at the Bartram Avenue Intersection.

There will be no Right-Of-Way acquisition necessary for this project and the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge will not be impacted.​