The Keim Street bridge shows its deterioration, corroded by rust on the east side of the span seen from Industrial Highway in Pottstown.
POTTSTOWN PA – The South Keim Street bridge across the Schuylkill River between Pottstown and North Coventry (PA) Township will be closed for at least eight weeks, and maybe longer, Montgomery County Communications Director John Corcoran said Tuesday (Oct. 19, 2010).
Almost two months should be enough time, Corcoran said in a press release, to “conduct an in-depth inspection” of the span and “determine the extent of the repairs needed to safely reopen it to traffic.” But the closure could extend beyond that time, he suggested, as inspectors “estimate how long the bridge will have to remain closed and the costs associated with (its) repairs.”
The bridge between Industrial Highway in Pottstown and Route 724 in North Coventry carried an estimated 9,400 vehicles daily, according to a recent Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission report cited by Corcoran. It was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic six days ago (Oct. 13), following an inspection by a consulting engineer to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
PennDOT’s consultant concluded its condition was unsafe, although specific problems were not made public. The Keim Street bridge was said to be in a shape similar to that of another bridge in Western Pennsylvania that “failed” and also was closed.
A detour has been set up to direct traffic on both sides from Keim Street to the bridge at Hanover Street, the closest river-crossing at 1-1/4 miles away. Corcoran noted that state, county and municipal officials are exploring whether temporary traffic signals would alleviate traffic congestion along the detour route.
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