Emergency Wallis Run Road Bridge Replacement over King Run

Reconnecting a Community After a Disaster
Plunketts Creek Township, Pennsylvania

In September 2011, Lycoming County was hit by Tropical Storm Lee, resulting in devastating flood damage along Loyalsock Creek. The Wallis Run Road Bridge, located about 24 miles north of Williamsport, was a single-span, stone masonry arch bridge that carried State Road (SR) 1006 across King Run to its intersection with SR 1005. Despite their limited traffic volume, both roadways serve as critical transportation links for this rural, forested area. Due to the simultaneous loss of several bridges in the region during this flood event, loss of the Wallis Run Road Bridge resulted in a 40-mile detour for local residents, essentially isolating the small community. When the flooding subsided, PennDOT quickly installed a temporary roadway and stream crossing to provide access to residents.

26x8

foot single-cell precast reinforced concrete box culvert

We designed the new bridge, which consists of a 26-foot by eight-foot single-cell precast reinforced concrete box culvert at grade with precast end sections. Traffic was maintained by use of a temporary runaround and King Run was diverted during construction by use of a temporary channel. The project was completed under an aggressive design schedule in order to meet district commitments. Natural Channel stream design measures and channel restoration techniques were incorporated into the infrastructure replacement ecosystem restoration design and included resilience measures for future protection of the natural and transportation resources.

Owner

PennDOT District 3-0

Services

  • Engineering
  • Environmental

Markets

  • Transportation

Regions

  • Northeast