Phillies postseason games push I-76 East bridge deck repairs back

Scheduled bridge deck repairs on part of I-76 East in Philadelphia will have to wait another weekend because of the Phillies’ playoff games at Citizens Bank Park.
PennDOT said Wednesday that the stretch of the Schuylkill Expressway between the city’s Grays Ferry neighborhood and the 34th Street on-ramp will now close on Friday, Oct. 11.
According to PennDOT, eastbound I-76 in Grays Ferry was scheduled to close from 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, to 4 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7.
Instead, the same section of the highway will close from 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, to 6 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 13.
The transportation department closed this same part of the highway last weekend for repairs.
PennDOT contractors are repairing and resurfacing “deteriorated concrete” bridge decks on the structure carrying I-76 East over the Schuylkill River and CSX rail tracks and an adjacent land structure over Grays Ferry Avenue, Wharton Street and Reed Street.
PennDOT said a regional detour route will be used from I-676 (Vine Street Expressway) to I-95 South or from I-466 to I-95 North.
The department will direct local traffic to leave I-76 East at Grays Ferry Avenue/University Avenue (Exit 346B) and use the University Avenue Bridge/34th Street to access the ramp to eastbound lanes during the closures.