Overview
- The Parkway East will close starting Friday at 9 p.m. for a planned 25‑day outage so crews can demolish the existing bridge and install the new span.
- Crews have drilled thousands of holes for explosive charges to bring down the old structure and have staged Mammoet’s equipment and 42 synchronized hydraulic jacks to lift and slide the 22‑million‑pound bridge about 120 feet.
- PennDOT says the slide itself is expected to take roughly 24 hours and that contractors are financially incentivized to finish sooner than the 25‑day maximum.
- Officials have published real‑time detour drive times, upgraded traffic signals, staged quick‑response tow assets and urged remote work and public transit to reduce congestion on detour corridors.
- Residents and small businesses warn detoured traffic could cause local gridlock, and PennDOT warns cleanup of debris and final site restoration will continue for weeks to months after the roadway reopens.