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Arden Bridge closure causes complications
Staff writer
Drivers who normally travel North Main Street near the Washington County Agricultural Fairgrounds and Expo Center were greeted with warnings Friday that starting at 7 a.m. Monday, the Arden Bridge will be closed.
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"I read about closure on the sign this morning," said South Strabane police Chief Donald Zofchak.
Chartiers police Chief James Horvath said one of his officers saw the message board while on patrol and reported the pending closure.
The road will be closed so that crews from Central-Ohio Railroad can repair the railroad crossing. The state Department of Transportation started work in April to replace a one-lane bridge that crosses Chartiers Creek at the Chartiers-South Strabane lines.
"The road will shut down for two to three weeks so the railroad can install a new crossing," said Scott Faieta, assistant construction manager for PennDOT. "That will give us a chance to align the road to the new bridge."
One lane of the new bridge and a sidewalk for pedestrians will be open in time for the Aug. 15 start of the Washington County Fair. The railroad crossing work also will be completed.
"We'll have the traffic switched over to the new road," Faieta said. "But traffic will be limited to one lane, with drivers from each direction taking turns stopping."
"We will not be working during the fair," he added. "We don't want to cause any inconvenience."
But the closure will mean some adjustments for emergency responders, particularly police and firefighters in Chartiers. The closure cuts off the quickest access to the Route 18 area of the township.
"We'll have to adapt patrols to make sure the area is covered," Horvath said. "It will be an adjustment for us."
Chartiers fire Chief Vince Altieri said he will have Washington firefighters and Mt. Pleasant Township volunteers respond to calls in the Route 18 area while the work is being done. He'll send the 911 dispatch center a letter notifying them to send those departments automatically in addition to Chartiers.
"We'll still go, we'll just have to go the back way," Altieri said, adding that his department and Houston's are doing the same for Mt. Pleasant. They are responding to calls in Westland because a bridge is closed on Route 519.
Washington fire Chief Linn Brookman was not aware of the closure until getting a call from a reporter. City firefighters are under contract to respond to calls at the Washington County Health Center on Old Hickory Ridge Road just off North Main.
"I guess we'll have to go out Country Club," Brookman said Friday. "But it is going to take us a lot longer to get there. I'm sure Chartiers will get there before us."
Zofchak said the closure will not adversely affect patrols by his officers.
"But we do have a lot of detours right now," he said. "We have closures on Rankin Road, Racetrack Road, Route 136 and now North Main."
The posted PennDOT detour will use Country Club Road, Oak Spring Road, Murtland Avenue, North Avenue and Beau Street.
Frank Gavlik & Sons is the contractor for the $1.8 million project. Work on the bridge is expected to be done at the end of October.
