In anticipation of the detour for the project to rehabilitate the McCall bridge, temporary traffic lights are going up at the intersection of Bankway and Bridge streets at the Lehighton end of the Weissport/Lehighton bridge to help traffic flow.

The work is being done by C.M. High Inc., traffic signal contractor, of Myerstown.Workers on Thursday set up a traffic "island" in the middle of the intersection with a boom truck to connect the wiring, while a nearby inspector watched as they worked.According to Bob Schaeffer, superintendent with J.D. Eckman, the contractor hired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the traffic lights will begin flashing seven days before the detour through Weissport begins."The detour is anticipated to begin June 6 and should last approximately three months," Schaeffer said.Calvin Ulshafer, with PennDOT, said the light will become operational at the stroke of midnight on June 6.During the detour, Weissport traffic on Bridge Street will be one way for the entire two lanes and Main Road will be one way from Weissport to Bank Street.Since the curb-to-curb width of the bridge is not wide enough to accommodate two-directional traffic during the deck repair construction, one lane of Route 209 northbound traffic will be maintained on the bridge while the southbound traffic will be detoured on Canal Street, through Weissport on Bridge Street and onto Bankway Street.Rehabilitationof the bridgeRehabilitation of the bridge will continue throughout the spring and summer.The $11.8 million project involves rehabilitation of the structure, which carries Route 209 traffic across the Lehigh River, Lehigh Canal, Norfolk Southern Railroad and other local roads.The structural rehabilitation includes deck repairs, new latex modified concrete overlay on the existing deck, new integral approach slabs at each end of the bridge, replacement of all 17 deck joints, placing new protective fencing along both barriers, replacing existing drainage scuppers and new downspout systems.The superstructure repairs include cleaning and repainting the entire superstructure, stiffening gusset plates in the truss spans, adding floor beam cover plates and adding girder stiffeners to increase capacity.Substructure repairs include replacing/rehabilitating bearings, repairing deteriorated concrete on piers and abutments, and reconstructing pier 4, and placing additional protection at piers 2 and 3.The McCall Bridge, built in 1938, was last rehabilitated in 1981.Workers are scheduled to work from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday with some occasional Friday shifts.During bridge jacking and placement of the latex modified concrete, workers will add night work hours from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.The detour is scheduled to end on Sept. 5, 2014.J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen is the contractor project.Completion date for the project is May 19, 2015.