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No Daytime Lane Closures are scheduled; Barrier Wall to be placed along Shoulders for Containment System
(January 26, 2017) – Tonight, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) crews will begin setting concrete barrier wall on the north side of the I-81 bridge project in Washington County.
“Water levels in the Potomac River have not yet receded due to recent rainstorms,” stated SHA District Engineer Anthony Crawford. “SHA will now set up a containment system on the Maryland side of the bridge to protect the C & O Canal Towpath, allowing crews to stay on schedule.”
SHA will close a single lane on northbound and southbound I-81 beginning Thursday night, January 26 through February 3 between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., weather permitting. No daytime lane closures are scheduled. The barrier will remain in place for the duration of the project.
The $105 million I-81 Improvement project extends between US 11 in West Virginia and MD 63 in Washington County. Once complete, a total of six travel lanes will be available for travel. SHA’s contractor for this project is Triton Construction, Inc. of St. Albans, WV.
Crews will replace the bridge decks and structural steel on the existing I-81 bridges over the Potomac River. The new 58-foot wide Potomac River bridges will include three 12-foot lanes, an inside 10-ft. shoulder and an outside 12-foot shoulder. The 56 foot- 8 inch wide Lappans Road bridges will include three 12-foot lanes with 10-foot wide inside and outside shoulders.
The I-81 bridges were originally constructed in 1965. Phased construction includes: widening the bridges to add an additional lane in each direction, shifting two lanes of traffic onto the new portion of the bridge while crews replace the existing structural steel and roadway.
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