North College Street (Route 501) Culvert Replacement

County: Lebanon
Municipality: Jackson Township
State Route: Route 501-035
Local Name: North College Street
Project Type: Culvert Replacement
MPMS Number: 105802
Proposed Construction Start: Summer 2028
Proposed Construction End: Summer 2028
Last Updated: June 2026

This project includes the replacement of the Route 501 Section 035 culvert (North College Street) over an unnamed tributary to Owl Creek in Jackson Township, Lebanon County. The purpose of this project is to provide safe and sustainable crossing on Route 501 over the unnamed tributary to Owl Creek.

Within the project area, Route 501 is a two-lane roadway located in a rural agricultural setting on rolling terrain and is classified as an arterial. The land use surrounding the roadway is predominantly active crop and pasture land with agricultural buildings farther from the bridge. The roadway within the project limits has a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour and an average daily traffic volume of 7153 vehicles per day.

The existing structure was built in 1952 and is a steel arch culvert. The bridge length is 15 feet and has a curb-to-curb width of 24 feet.

The project involves the removal of the existing structure, and replacement with a pre-cast box culvert.  The new structure will include concrete wingwalls and rock scour protection at each end. Minor approach roadway work including pavement reconstruction on Route 501 (North College Street).  Rock slope protection and guide rail upgrades will also be performed. The horizontal and vertical roadway geometry will closely match the existing geometry. The roadway and bridge will be slightly widened to accommodate 12-feet lanes and 5-feet shoulders; providing a 34-feet curb-to-curb width.

Route 501 will be closed within the project limits with separate vehicle and truck detours utilized to perform the structure replacement and the proposed roadway reconstruction.  See the preliminary detour plan under the Resources section of this page. 

The detours will use only state-owned routes. The anticipated vehicular detour uses Route 501 (North College Street) to Route 0422 (Conrad Weiser Parkway/Benjamin Franklin Highway) to Route 645 (Kutztown Road/Locust Street) to Route 1012 (Rosebud Road). The anticipated truck detour uses Route 0501(North College Street) to Route 422 (Conrad Weiser Parkway/Benjamin Franklin Highway) and Route 419 (Rehrersburg Road). The anticipated detour lengths are 5.9 miles for the vehicular detour route and 22.0 miles for the truck detour route.