The Freedom Valley Chronicles:
Sinkholes - Part Three
Plymouth Road Bridge
October 24, 2018
This is some of the damage caused on the Plymouth Road Bridge by one of the area sinkholes.
The photograph was taken on April 21, 2015. A Jersey barrier is located to the left in this photo
to prevent vehicles and pedestrians from being injured on the bridge.
Sinkholes have played havoc with roadways throughout the Freedom Valley.
Sometimes, it is a modest sinkhole on the edge of a road. But sometimes, sinkholes have taken out key sections of highways.
Such was the case with a road near the Plymouth Meeting Mall in the winter of 2014-2015.
According to an abstract presented by representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and HDR, Inc. of Plymouth Meeting at the Highway Geology Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado in July of 2016, a sinkhole developed in December of 2014 next to “the downstream apron” of the Plymouth Road Bridge.
“On March 12, 2015, Plymouth Road was closed and detoured between Interstate 476 and Butler Pike,” stated Ms. Ayanna Williams, Community Relations Coordinator for Engineering District 6 of PennDOT. Ms. Williams explained that the closure was necessary “to replace the bridge carrying Plymouth Road over Plymouth Creek in Plymouth Township as a result of the sinkhole.”
Construction began quickly on this roadway due to its importance in the regional highway network. As work was done, additional sinkholes surfaced at this site.
The contractor hired by PennDOT “began construction on April 27, 2015, to remove the damaged Plymouth Road Bridge,” stated Ms. Williams. “The former bridge, built in 1962, was not repairable because of the extent of the structural and foundation damage.”
According to several reports, sinkholes were a common problem facing this bridge.
Ms. Williams explained the removal of the old bridge allowed the construction of “a new single-span, pre-stressed concrete box beam structure supported by reinforced concrete abutments on steel, micro-pile foundations. The new bridge is 31 feet long and 43 feet wide. It carries two, 12-foot-wide lanes and 8-foot-wide shoulders.”
“The new micro-pile foundation is designed to be strong enough to support the bridge should any additional ground movement occur,” stated Ms. Williams. “Forty-eight steel piles were driven and socketed into bedrock to support the two bridge abutments.”
The cost for this bridge construction project was $2,240,240.00, according to Ms. Williams, and was financed with state funds.
Three firms played roles in the construction of this new bridge.
According to PennDOT, Loftus Construction, Inc. of Cinnaminson, New Jersey, was the general contractor. The project was designed by HDR, Inc. of Plymouth Meeting. The underground investigation and foundation design work was done by American Geotechnical & Environmental Services, Inc. of King of Prussia.
The new Plymouth Road Bridge opened on August 27, 2015.
Traffic on Plymouth Road close to the old Plymouth Road Bridge was estimated to have been an average annual daily traffic count of 10,236 vehicles northbound and an average annual daily traffic of 11,534 southbound in March of 2014, according to data from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
The PennDOT Traffic Volume Map for Montgomery County showed that the traffic on Plymouth Road in this area was between an annual average daily traffic count of 13,000 vehicles each day and an annual average daily traffic count of 16,000 vehicles in 2016.(The PennDOT map does not indicate specific traffic counts on the bridge itself in 2016.)
Plymouth Road used to travel through a rural-looking, wooded area of Plymouth Township.
This is what the Plymouth Road Bridge looked like in May of 2009. Note the culvert with water surrounded by
vegetation and trees in the middle of this photograph. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is nearby.
A small piece of a rural landscape still existed in August of 2012. This is what the
Plymouth Road Bridge looked like to travelers at that time. The culvert
with water is located in the middle left of this photo.
This is what the Plymouth Road Bridge looked like in October of 2017.
Note that much of the vegetation has been removed from the area between
the bridge and the culvert in the middle of the photograph. Stone and concrete
now line the bed of the Plymouth Creek leading up to the culvert.
An aerial view of the area in October of 2017 showed the location of the Plymouth Road Bridge
in the middle of this photograph. The roadway with the dashed lines is Plymouth Road. The white
areas near the bridge include sections of concrete laid as part of the rebuilding of the bridge to repair
the sinkholes in the area. The Plymouth Creek at this site now flows on those concrete beds. The
large roadways in this aerial photograph are part of the interchange connecting the Pennsylvania
Turnpike with the Mid-County Expressway. Not seen, but to the left of this photograph, is
Germantown Pike, while Butler Pike, also not seen, is to the right of this photo.
These images detail the steps taken to repair the sinkholes that forced the closure to through
traffic on Plymouth Road between Interstate 476 and Butler Pike.
This is a view of the side of the Plymouth Road Bridge on April 21, 2015.
This is a close-up of one of the sinkholes near the Plymouth Road Bridge on April 21, 2015.
A view of one of the sinkholes in the Plymouth Creek on April 21, 2015.
Ground has eroded around a sinkhole next to the Plymouth Road Bridge on April 21, 2015.
Trees to be removed have each been marked with an orange “x”.
This is a wider view of the landscape next to the Plymouth Road Bridge on April 21, 2015.
The Parc Plymouth Meeting Apartments can be seen in the distance.
The former Plymouth Road Bridge was demolished and removed from the site.
This is what the ground looked like at the site on June 1, 2015.
A sinkhole is clearly visible in this photograph from June 1, 2015, of the site where the former
Plymouth Road Bridge carried traffic from Butler Pike to Germantown Pike.
Water from the Plymouth Creek is seen rushing into one of the sinkholes at the site of the
former Plymouth Road Bridge on June 1, 2015.
This is the view of one of the sinkholes on June 2, 2015, at the site of the former Plymouth Road Bridge.
A close-up of that same sinkhole on June 2, 2015, at the site of the former Plymouth Road Bridge.
A yardstick is used to provide some perspective on the size of this sinkhole
at the site of the former Plymouth Road Bridge on June 2, 2015.
After the sinkholes were repaired, Plymouth Creek flowed on a concrete bed underneath
the new Plymouth Road Bridge. The view is from August 27, 2015.
This is a view of the new Plymouth Road Bridge looking towards Butler Pike. The
Parc Plymouth Meeting Apartments can be seen to the left in this photograph taken on August 27, 2015.
This was the scene on August 27, 2015, as the new Plymouth Road Bridge was being readied for its opening.
The ribbon cutting ceremony to open the new Plymouth Road Bridge took place on August 27, 2016. At
this ceremony, from left to right in the photograph, were Mr. Sheldon Simpson, Plymouth Township Council;
Ms. Cathy Peduzzi, Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors; State Senator Vincent Hughes; Ms. Leslie
Richards, Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Ms. Lenore Bruno, Plymouth
Township Council; Mr. Martin Higgins, Plymouth Township Council; Mr. Robert Hart, Whitemarsh Township
Board of Supervisors; and Mr. George Dunheimer, PennDOT Assistant District Executive for Construction.
Credits:
The top photograph of the former Plymouth Road Bridge is courtesy of Loftus Construction, Inc., 2015.
The photographs of the Plymouth Road Bridge in 2009, 2012, and 2017 are courtesy of Google, 2009, 2012, and 2017.
The aerial photograph of the Plymouth Road Bridge in 2017 is courtesy of Google, 2017.
The image of the design plans for the Plymouth Road Bridge is courtesy of Loftus Construction, Inc., 2015.
The photographs of the damaged former Plymouth Road Bridge are courtesy of Loftus Construction, Inc., 2015.
The photographs of the sinkholes and landscape at the site of the former Plymouth Road Bridge
are courtesy of Loftus Construction, Inc., 2015.
The photographs of the new Plymouth Road Bridge at the time of its opening and at the time of
the ribbon-cutting ceremony are courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 2015.
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Contact Richard McDonough at freedomvalleychronicles@gmail.com.
© 2018 Richard McDonough