I-76 closure: Traffic backups begin as highway project gets underway
UNIVERSITY CITY - Friday night traffic has become as packed as a Monday morning back to work commute as crews from PennDOT begin work on parts of I-76 East.
They started around 9 p.m. and the project is slated to last for four weekends.
While PennDOT put the word out a few weeks ago, it is leading to serious backups on the Schuylkill Expressway.
The project was initially set to start last weekend, but was postponed.
I-76 closure: PennDOT to close portions of Schuylkill for bridge deck repairs 3 consecutive weekends
PennDOT announced three weekends of road closures on I-76 in the Grays Ferry neighborhood for bridge deck repairs.
The closures are from Grays Ferry Avenue to the 34th Street on-ramp.
PennDOT says if you’re traveling, leave time to get through the congestion or, better yet, plan another route.
PennDOT Deputy Communications Director, Brad Rudolph, said, "There are ways to get around it. It's gonna be congested regardless of which route you take, whether you take 676 to 95 south to get to 76 to the Walt Whitman Bridge or you're coming from way out west and you're taking 476 south to 95 north you're still gonna pick up 76 at the same spot. Local traffic will get off at the closure point, which is Grays Ferry Avenue and University Avenue, they'll take the University Avenue Bridge which becomes 34th Street and that ramp is open because all the ramps will stay open for this closure."
PennDOT realizes the highway is crucial to the hometown Philly teams and they will not shut down the highway with the Phillies home playoffs games coming up on the weekends or the Eagles home games happening soon. The highway will stay open to make sure fans get to and from those big games without getting into big traffic trouble.