SANATOGA PA – In its continuing distress over the announced closing of the East High Street bridge at Sanatoga Road later this year for repairs, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township has appealed to elected state officials to mediate on its behalf with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and keep traffic flowing. If they can’t work something out, members of the township Board of Commissioners said Thursday (Feb. 19, 2009), they believe some Lower Pottsgrove merchants will go out of business.

Cutillo's Restaurant, which last September built an outdoor patio to attract customers, is among businesses directly affected by the impending closing of an East High Street bridge.

With more than 30 companies located along the portion of highway affected by the closing, board member James Phillips said, “somebody has to start thinking about” its impact. The work is expected to take four to six months, and “I think we’re going to lose businesses because of it,” board Vice President Jonathan Spadt added.

It was the most dire warning yet sounded by commissioners, who are adamant that PennDOT must find a way to keep at least one lane of the two-lane bridge open during the day, or conduct its work at night during hours of decreased traffic. The 300-foot-long bridge, which crosses Sanatoga Creek, is scheduled to be straightened, have cracks in its masonry filled, and receive a new retaining barrier. The bridge was last closed for repairs in 2004.

Problems the township experienced then will only be compounded now, commissioners argue, due to local business, traffic and population growth. Township Manager Rodney Hawthorne sent letters recently to state Rep. Thomas Quigley and Sen. John Rafferty, asking for their help in getting PennDOT to alter its closing plans. Both assured him “they’re working on it,” Hawthorne said.

East High Street is the primary east-west roadway that cuts through the heart of Sanatoga village and across the entire width of the township. Repairs would be made between Allison Drive, on the bridge’s west side, and Sanatoga Road on the east. Access will be available to all local businesses and residents on either side, but PennDOT plans to detour through traffic from Armand Hammer Boulevard, along a substantial portion of U.S. Route 422, and back to East High near the Sanatoga interchange.

• A color map of the detour and affected area is being distributed as a single-page Adobe Acrobat document by ‘The Post’ and is available for download here.

Crossing the bridge.

The route effectively isolates the entire village district from the benefit of drive-by customers. “There’s got to be a more creative way to handle it,” Phillips pleaded. “It’s imposing such an undue burden on the businesses there.”

Board President Bruce Foltz also worries about the ability of police, fire and ambulance reponders to quickly reach an emergency or accident scene if the bridge closes. Although township Police Chief Michael Shade has said he does not foresee problems, Foltz Thursday repeated his assertion the bridge closing would slow response times.

The exact date of the bridge closing is still unknown. Traffic Planning and Design Inc., the Sanatoga firm hired by PennDOT to supervise the bridge’s repair, indicated late last year the work could start by April. A Feb. 10 (2009) report published by The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper claimed the department had pushed the start date back to June, but Hawthorne said the township had not received notice of that decision.

Related:

• Sanatoga Bridge Closing This Spring
• Bridge Repairs Next Year

Related: (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 19 meeting):

• Proposed Deal Bringing FiOS Here
• Awaiting Agenda In Lower Pottsgrove

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