Ridgeway Street Bridge

Benesch provided design services for the replacement of a historic single-span pony truss bridge over the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad. The structurally deficient 138-foot-long bridge had a posted weight limit of 13 tons, forcing fire trucks and school buses to detour around the structure. Due to several safety issues, the poor condition of the structure and the posted weight limit, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation sought to replace the 88-year-old bridge.

Benesch’s services included the preparation of preliminary and final design plans, bidding specifications and estimates for the bridge’s replacement and construction services. The replacement structure is a 65-foot-long, single-span steel beam bridge with cantilever abutments and wingwalls supported on shallow foundations.

The Benesch-designed bridge implemented accelerated bridge construction techniques (ABC) utilizing precast concrete substructure units and steel beams with precast concrete deck modules. Utilities carried by the original structure were temporarily relocated to a utility bridge located adjacent to the existing and new bridge. This required both careful demolition of the existing bridge and tight clearances for the erection of the precast concrete substructure units for the new bridge.

Located near East Stroudsburg University, the ABC techniques allowed the bridge to be constructed during the summer months, minimizing impacts to students and faculty during the fall and spring semesters.

Both an interpretive panel discussing the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and an aesthetic railroad protective fence mimicking the original historic pony truss bridge were incorporated into the project to meet stakeholder requests to honor the area’s history.