Nov 23, 2015 2 min read

Washington County commissioners on Thursday awarded a $465,290 contract to Maccabee Industrial Inc. of Belle Vernon to manufacture a bridge to replace the 99-year-old Butsko Road bridge over Pigeon Creek in Fallowfield Township near Bentleyville.

The project will be funded from a Local Share Account grant of gambling revenue from The Meadows Casino and money from Act 13, known as the impact fee from Marcellus Share natural gas wells.

The bridge, built in 1916, was found to be structurally deficient and was closed to traffic in June 2013, causing average daily traffic of 150 vehicles to be rerouted, according to the UglyBridges.com national bridge inventory website. When open, it provided access to Route 917.

Maccabee was deemed to be the lowest, most responsive and responsible bidder meeting specifications, based on bids reviewed and recommended for award by Lisa Cessna, executive director of Washington County Planning Commission, Vince Ley, project engineer, and the purchasing department.

The county’s designation for the bridge is Pigeon Creek No. 10, and the prefabricated replacement span will be installed next year.

Also at the request of the planning department, the commissioners approved a $9,000 deed of easement with Angela D. and Robert J. Abt Jr. for both temporary and permanent access to the Mawhinney Road Bridge over Millers Run in Cecil Township. The agreement is to be paid for with the county’s Liquid Fuel funds. PennDOT will seek bids for replacement of the bridge, which remains open to traffic.