Construction began June 22 on a project to rehabilitate the bridge carrying Friendship Church Road over Knight Run in West Fallowfield Township, Chester County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

The Friendship Church Road Bridge is one of 11 structures in Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties that PennDOT is or has repaired under a $9.8 million project financed by Act 89, the state's transportation plan. This latest upgrade is one of only two bridges still under construction.

PennDOT said that work on the Friendship Church Road bridge project is being performed in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance, as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan. It includes protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the job site and relevant training.

Due to the nature of the construction, Friendship Church Road is closed, and traffic is detoured around the clock between Route 41 (Gap Newport Pike) and McHenry Road through the completion of the project, scheduled for mid-July. Until then, Friendship Church Road motorists can use Route 41 (Gap Newport Pike) and Route 10 (Limestone Road) through the area. Local access is maintained up to the construction zone.

Built in 1934, the Friendship Church Road bridge is 18 ft. long and 26 ft. wide. The structure carries an average of 195 vehicles a day.

The series of bridge projects funded by Act 89 also includes the current rehabilitation of the Route 532 (Bustleton Avenue) structure over the CSX Railroad in Philadelphia.

Loftus Construction Inc. of Cinnaminson, N.J., is the general contractor of this bridge improvement, a project that is financed with 100 percent state funds.

The remaining nine bridges financed by Act 89 are already completed. They include:

• Boot Road over Route 100 in West Whiteland Township, Chester County
• Main Street over the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Limerick Township, Montgomery County
• Route 611 over Pennypack Creek in Upper Moreland, Montgomery County
• Route 611 over the Pennsylvania Turnpike ramp in Upper Moreland, Montgomery County
• Old Lancaster Road over the Amtrak tracks in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County
• Ross Fording Road over Octoraro Creek in West Fallowfield Township, Chester County
• Quakertown Road over Macoby Creek in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County
• Route 63 (Welsh Road) over the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Upper Dublin and Upper Moreland townships, Montgomery County
• Whitford Road over Valley Creek in West Whiteland Township, Chester County.

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