STV Provides Engineering Design for Complex Interchange in Philadelphia

In support of one of the most significant roadway reconstruction initiatives currently underway in the Northeast, STV, a leading transportation engineering company, has been contracted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to perform design and construction phase services for the three-level reconfiguration of the Betsy Ross Interchange (BRI) along I-95 in Philadelphia.

This complex $880 million program will be constructed in four phases. The first phase of construction, Section BR0, broke ground earlier this year. Section BR0 connects I-95 to the local street system in Pennsylvania, as well as to NJ-90 via the Betsy Ross Bridge crossing into New Jersey, and focuses on interchange ramp improvements needed for future construction sections.  BR0 will involve rehabilitating a number of ramps to improve capacity and functionality to and from I-95 to the local street system, as well as constructing two new connecting ramps to and from the Betsy Ross Bridge and Aramingo Avenue. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

With more than 160,000 vehicles using I-95 every day within the project area, the overall goal of this program is create a safer and more efficient interchange through the reconstruction of the interchange’s multi-tiered network of roadways, ramps and bridges. Section BR0 connects I-95 to the local street system in Pennsylvania, as well as to NJ-90 via the Betsy Ross Bridge crossing into New Jersey.

“The BRI project will vastly improve the flow of traffic, increase the number of lanes and access points to and from Philadelphia, and enhance safety at the interchange,” said Leonard Smith, an STV vice president and the Pennsylvania business unit leader in the firm’s Transportation & Infrastructure Division.  “It is an enormously complex project, with numerous challenges including maintaining the flow of traffic for the thousands of motorists who use this vital interchange every day.”

The redesigned BRI infrastructure features particularly intricate and nuanced curves and bends on the seven interchange ramps. The initiative also includes the widening of several bridges from the 1990s and the replacement of several incomplete bridges from which were left over from the unbuilt Pulaski Expressway. A multi-phased traffic control plan will be deployed to accommodate motorists during construction.

Along with PennDOT, STV has actively coordinated with a number of stakeholders including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Delaware River Port Authority, the Philadelphia Water Department, Conrail, and NJ Transit, as well as a number of local community and business associations. Noteworthy were STV’s collaborative efforts with PennDOT and FHWA that resulted in STV developing two innovative geotechnically-engineered embankment construction solutions, eliminating bridges and reducing overall maintenance costs.

“BR0 will include pilot sections of each of these solutions with the intent of applying them to future phases within BRI,” said Geoff Stryker, P.E., STV’s project manager for this initiative and manager of the firm’s Harrisburg office. “This plan could eliminate more than 350,000 square feet of structurally deficient bridge deck and save PennDOT as much as $80 million.”

For more information, contact:

Jill Bonamusa,
212) 614-3354
jill.bonamusa@stvinc.com

Mark Ginocchio
(212) 505-4916
mark.ginocchio@stvinc.com