Oct 8, 2008 4:30 pm US/Eastern
PennDOT: Shippingport Bridge To Reopen Next Week
SHIPPINGPORT (KDKA) ―
Structural concerns caused a bridge in Beaver County to close, forcing hundreds of people to use a lengthy detour and now some say they're frustrated.
"Every penny counts. When you're spending $1,500, $1,800 a week in fuel, you know, even an extra hundred or two – that's money out of my pocket," Steve Skiner, a trucker, said.
The closest bridge across the river is the Beaver Valley Expressway – about 10 miles upstream.
While some people are upset about the closures, others are glad the problem was caught.
The 48-year-old bridge is structurally deficient.
"What they need to do about that bridge [is] they need to fix it period because it's in bad shape," Mike Mushing, from Midland, said.
The bridge is expected to reopen next Tuesday or Wednesday.
A PennDOT routine inspection found advanced deterioration in a steel floor beam on the structure.
Emergency repairs are now underway.
The bridge will undergo a full rehabilitation in November.
PennDOT suggests the following detours:
From Industry: Route 68 and Midland-Beaver Rd, then take Route 60 (Beaver Valley Expressway) south to the Shippingport exit and follow Route 18 South to Shippingport.
From Shippingport: Shippingport Hill/Green Garden Road to Route 18, then take Route 18 to Route 60, the Beaver Valley Expressway North to the Midland/Shippingport exit.
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