Both lanes of the Thomas J. McCall Memorial Bridge in Lehighton will soon reopen.

Sean Brown, safety press officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 5, said Tuesday that this phase of bridge repair work is on schedule for its Sept. 5 deadline."We had a very strict schedule (for that part of the project) and we are going to meet it," he said.That means that motorists using the detour to travel across the Lehigh River in Lehighton will be able to use the McCall bridge again for both directions, eliminating the detour down through Weissport.In addition, PennDOT has started milling and paving work down the hill into Weissport and on Bridge Street, as well as on the McCall bridge.Work will be completed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Sept. 5.Brown said that the milling and paving work will occur throughout the whole detour, with work happening on the bridge, as well as in Weissport during overnight hours.Lane restrictions will occur at various locations in the area while work is completed.The $11.8 million project on the bridge began in October 2013, with the detour starting on June 6.The project to rehabilitate the 16-span multi-type steel bridge includes replacing the fixed bearings for piers one, two and three; reconstructing pier four; placing scout protection at piers two and three; making repairs to deteriorated concrete on piers and abutments; completing deck repairs, adding new latex modified concrete overlay on the existing deck and new integral approach slabs at each end of the bridge; replacing all 17 deck joints; adding a new protective fence along both barriers; and replacing drainage scuppers and installing new downspout systems.The entire superstructure is also scheduled to be cleaned and repainted, plus workers will stiffen gusset plates in the truss spans, add floor beamcover plates and girderstiffeners to increasecapacity.J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen is the contractor for the project.The completion date is set for May 19, 2015.