The Turnpike Commission has reported that the bridge which spans Crackersport Road in South Whitehall Township will be replaced during a 55-hour period. The turnpike will be closed between the Lehigh Valley exit and the Mahoning Valley exit to all traffic north and southbound while work is being completed.

The project will take place from Friday, Sept. 29, to Monday, Oct. 2. There is a weather backup date of Oct. 13 through Oct. 16.The replacement is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. on Friday evening, and both spans will be completed by 4 a.m. Monday."This type of construction compacts into 55 hours that which could have taken incrementally up to two years in the past," said Turnpike Communications Director Carl DeFebo.DeFebo said that dozens of workers will be working around the clock in shifts to make sure that the work gets done quickly and safely."This is a unique type of project for us as well," DeFebo said. "It is a challenge to keep control of everything at the same time."While the actual closure is 18 miles, the authorized detour is 60 miles for local traffic and 67 miles for through traffic."We don't want to scare anybody. We want to be upfront," DeFebo said. "On weekends we typically see lighter traffic."Local traffic will be rerouted along Routes 22, 33 and 209. Thru-traffic will be routed between Route 22 and Route 80 with travelers re-entering or exiting the turnpike at Exit 95."These will be lengthy detours, so we would like to encourage travelers to avoid the area if they can," said Project Manager Wally Wimmer. "This detour is going to add significant time onto your trip."Wimmer said a lot of time and effort has gone into creating the Transportation Management Plan. The idea is to create a detour that is best for the safety and protection of the motorists.Wimmer said the digital signs will begin to be placed along the turnpike notifying drivers of the date and time of the detour period.The commission has a meeting set for Aug. 7 at the Albrightsville Fire Company to meet with emergency responders, local police and municipalities to apprise them of the Transportation Management Plan."We have worked closely with PennDOT and the state police to make sure we are offering a detour capable of handling the number of cars we expect to travel the detour," DeFebo said. "Part of our job is to notify people of what the expectation should be.""We want to get the word out," Wimmer said. "We just want people to know that this might not be the best weekend to be traveling that route."According the DeFebo, the Northeast Extension of the turnpike sees an average of 30,000 vehicles per day. Wimmer says that about 14 to 15 percent of that is commercial traffic.Anyone interested in how two bridge spans can be replaced in 55 hours can see an animated video depiction at

www.paturnpike.com/travel/accelerated bridge construction.aspx. The link also includes a time-lapse video of the pre-construction phase and more information and maps of the detour routes.