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Inspector to Close Single Lanes for One Week; Motorists Should Expect Delays
(April 22, 2016) – Beginning at 9 p.m., April 24, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) will begin routine overnight inspections of the
I-81 Bridges over the Potomac River at the Maryland/West Virginia line in Williamsport. The inspection of both the northbound and southbound bridges will take approximately five nights, weather permitting.
The inspections are being performed at night to reduce traffic impacts for motorists and truckers. SHA will close a single lane on each bridge between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Approximately 61,000 vehicles use the I-81 Bridges over the Potomac River each day, of which nearly 16,500 is truck traffic. Motorists travelling during the inspections should consider using
US 11 from West Virginia to Williamsport as an alternate route.
(SHA photo: The I-81 Bridges over the Potomac River. The bridges were constructed in 1965.)
SHA’s contractor for the bridge inspection, RK&K Engineering of Baltimore, will use a “Snooper truck” so that inspectors can access the metal beams under the bridge.
(SHA photo: A bridge “Snooper inspection” truck.)
Construction season is in full gear. A complete listing of current roadway projects is included in e
-Road Ready 2016, the online brochure. For more information on Work Zone Safety Awareness, visit
www.roads.maryland.gov and click on the work zone safety banner. Maryland drivers can also know before they go by calling 511 or visiting
www.md511.org for live traffic updates, including construction delays and lane closures.
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