POTTSTOWN PA – Montgomery County officials confirmed Wednesday (Dec. 15, 2010) what Pottstown PA area drivers have expected since mid-October: the South Keim Street bridge that crosses the Schuylkill River between Pottstown and North Coventry “will remain closed for the foreseeable future.”
Pottstown's own 'Bridge To Nowhere:' the South Keim Street span across the Schuylkill River will be closed "for the foreseeable future."
The bridge was closed to all traffic two months ago after a consulting engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation inspected it and determined its condition was unsafe. Drivers and pedestrians alike, who traveled the bridge before its closure, could attest to seeing rusted steel and crumbling concrete across the span.
To “reopen it safely to traffic would be both costly and take a considerable amount of time,” county Communications Director John Corcoran reported. It would cost $9.5 million and take 18 to 24 months to repair the bridge, he said, “and even then, PennDOT would restrict traffic to one lane going one-way for safety reasons.”
What drivers once hoped were only temporary detours will now become permanent. The primary alternative re-directs traffic west to Pottstown’s Hanover Street bridge, the closest river-crossing. Control signals at intersections along the detour route (from Keim Street in North Coventry, along Route 724 to Hanover Street, across the bridge, and along Industrial Highway to Keim Street in Pottstown) have been modified to accommodate the increased traffic.
In addition, as The Post first reported Dec. 9, a state-described “experimental” and temporary traffic signal is being installed at the intersection of Industrial Highway and Moser Road in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township to alleviate growing congestion there. That signal “should be operational by Christmas,” Corcoran said.
A Pottstown area traffic task force has been created in response to the Keim Street Bridge closing and other road improvement projects planned by PennDOT and the borough, Corcoran added. It is scheduled to meet monthly and consists of representatives from state Sen. John Rafferty’s office, Lower Pottsgrove, Pottstown, North Coventry, Chester and Montgomery counties, and the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association.
As for the bridge’s future? It’s already on PennDOT’s schedule to be not just fixed but replaced entirely … by 2018.
Related:
- Now Official: Keim Bridge Closed For ‘Foreseeable Future’
- With Keim Bridge Out, Signal Coming In To Lower Pottsgrove
- Supervisor Prefers New, Re-Aligned Bridge At South Keim
- Keim Street Bridge To Be Closed At Least Eight Weeks
