Lincoln Drive detour begins

A 16-month detour was set to begin Wednesday about 9 a.m., after the morning rush, for motorists who use southbound Lincoln Drive, as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation rebuilds the interchange with City Avenue, Ridge Avenue, and Kelly Drive.

As part of the $20.2 million project, crews are replacing two bridges over Kelly Drive, the bridge carrying Lincoln Drive over Ridge Avenue, and the Lincoln Drive ramp to southbound City Avenue. A fifth bridge, over Ridge Avenue, is being removed and will not be replaced.

The Lincoln Drive detour will require all southbound Lincoln Drive motorists to exit at the Ridge Avenue off-ramp. From there, they can go straight across Ridge to reach the ramp to Kelly Drive, turn left to get to the ramp to southbound City Avenue, go east on Ridge, or turn right to go west on Ridge. PennDot has installed a temporary traffic signal at the intersection.

Two lanes of northbound Lincoln Drive will remain open on the bridge over Ridge Avenue during construction, but northbound motorists will encounter traffic-pattern shifts on the bridge while crews replace it one half at a time.    - Paul Nussbaum

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