The Commission expects noise wall construction in Pennsylvania to begin in early summer and be completed later this year.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced the award of construction and engineering contracts related to the construction of noise walls in Pennsylvania as part of the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project. The contracts were awarded at the Commission's monthly meeting on May 23.

The Commission expects noise wall construction in Pennsylvania to begin in early summer and be completed later this year. The project includes the construction of six sections of noise walls along Northbound and Southbound I-95 between the I-95/Pa. State Route 332 Interchange and the I-95/Taylorsville Road Interchange. The noise walls will have an approximate total length of 12,500 ft. (3,810 m). The project will also include the installation of a new Peregrine Falcon Shelter in the vicinity of the bridge and the installation of bird deterrents beneath the current Scudder Falls Bridge.

The construction contract for the project was awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, PKF-Mark III Inc. of Newtown, Pa., for an amount not to exceed $11,394,750. The Commission also approved a construction inspection services contract to Jacobs Engineering Group for an amount not-to-exceed $626,965.40. The engineering consulting firm will be responsible for monitoring and overseeing the noise wall construction field activities and ensuring that the work and materials conform with the Commission's plans and specifications.

Noise walls are already in place along a significant portion of the project area in New Jersey. Due to the staging of the project, additional noise walls in New Jersey will be constructed in later stages of the bridge replacement project.

The Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project involves a heavily commuted 4.4-mi. (7 km) portion of the I-95 corridor extending from the Route 332/Yardley-Newtown Road interchange (exit 49) in Bucks County, Pa., and the Bear Tavern Road/Route 579 interchange (exit 2) in Mercer County, N.J. The congestion-prone highway segment is a choke point for job-commuter traffic between Bucks County, Pa., and Central Jersey.

The nearly 55-year-old bridge and nearby interchanges are classified as functionally obsolete. To address recurring traffic safety and capacity problems at the bridge, its adjoining interchanges and I-95 approaches, the Commission is pursuing a comprehensive project for the highway segment.

The project's final design stage is expected to reach completion during late summer/early fall. Once construction gets fully under way in early 2017, it's expected that it will take up to four years to complete all of the project's elements. More precise construction start and end dates will be established after final design is completed.

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