Abington Township commissioners Matt Vahey and Bill Bole said they worked with Governor Josh Shapiro’s office to persuade SEPTA to delay the Easton Road bridge replacement project which was scheduled to begin in March.

The six-week shutdown of Easton Road “seemed untenable with the closure of Highland Avenue,” commissioner Vahey said in a statement, noting that the project “will likely proceed this summer when vacations lower traffic volume and when we have more time to plan.”

Easton Road is being used as a detour in the aftermath of the fire at SPS Technologies in Jenkintown. SEPTA is in the process of working with their contractor to identify a schedule for the detour, officials said.

The final design traffic detour was presented to Cheltenham Township, Abington Township, and PennDOT in November. Engineer Dominic Marchesano told township officials that the project involves concrete repairs to abutment walls, center pier support, and bridge superstructure, as well as partial platform repair at Glenside Station, according to Cheltenham Township’s minutes from December 4.

Previous attempts by Cheltenham Township officials and local business owners to delay the project were unsuccessful.

“I want to thank Governor Shapiro for his support. I have been in regular communication with the Governor and his team since the fire. We are very fortunate to have a strong and reliable ally in Harrisburg,” Vahey wrote.

The Keswick Avenue detour scheduled for May remains unchanged at this time.

More details about the project can be found here and below:

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