Blue Route bottleneck takes rush-hour break

Good news for anyone planning to use the northbound Blue Route (I-476) from I-95 to Swarthmore late this afternoon:

Emergency repair work on a loosened expansion joint will be suspended during the afternoon rush.

If all goes well, crews resuming this evening be able to finish the job by 6 a.m. Thursday, so the morning rush won't see a repeat of the major backup still being reported by traffic.com as of early afternoon.

Only one lane could get by between the MacDade Boulevard and Baltimore Pike interchanges in Delaware County.

The 3-foot-wide steel joint, which broke loose late Tuesday afternoon, crosses both lanes on the bridge over Avondale Road in Nether Providence Township.

PennDOT was suggesting two alternate routes during the repair work:

-- Exit I-95 at the Route 352/320/Edgmont Avenue Interchange, then follow Route 320 north to Baltimore Pike, turn left on Baltimore Pike to I-476 on-ramp.

-- Exit I-95 at the Route 420 Interchange and follow Route 420 north to Baltimore Pike, turn left on Baltimore Pike to the I-476 on-ramp.

For more traffic updates, go to http://go.philly.com/traffic.