The bridge as it appeared during January 2009
SANATOGA PA – The more-than-three-year, back-and-forth discussion over adequacy of guide rails at the Sunnybrook Road bridge that crosses Sprogel’s Run on Lower Pottsgrove’s southwest side seems to have finally come to an end, according to Scott Exley, president of Bursich Associates, the township engineering firm.
Consultants for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation have “signed off” on about $15,000 in alterations to the guide rails that PennDOT in 2009 claimed were in need of “immediate” repairs. The new guide rail system “is more effective,” Exley told the Board of Commissioners last Monday (Aug. 6, 2012), and also represents a “far less expensive proposition” than what PennDOT earlier envisioned, he added.
The bridge is located on Sunnybrook Road slightly more than a half-mile north of its intersection with East High Street. Concrete barriers line the bridge itself; the guide rails line the roadway ramps leading to both sides. The bridge’s north end is immediately adjacent to the entrance of the township’s 8.9-acre Alfred B. Miles Park, which is bordered by Sprogels Run for its entire length.
Most of the problem, township officials have consistently said, can be traced to changes the agency made among its consultants.
When PennDOT first raised the issue in January 2009 it caught Lower Pottsgrove by surprise. The bridge had been inspected regularly by agency contractors since 2000, when a new set of guide rails was installed. None of those checks signaled any hint of a problem, according to township Manager Rodney Hawthorne. Only when a new inspecting crew was hired by PennDOT did “Priority 1″ – most urgent – flags go up regarding the bridge, he said.
Since then, Exley said, Bursich representatives and PennDOT consultants exchanged a flurry of letters, reports and other paperwork to document the bridge’s condition and proposed solutions to the consultants’ observations.
A compromise was found, and newer guide rails installed about three weeks ago. “Now,” Exley told commissioners, “the bridge should come off their list. Finally.”
Related:
- After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge
- Talks Continue On Sprogels Run Bridge
- Township Questions State Bridge Report
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Aug. 6):
- After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge
- Warrant Makes It Easy To Follow Township’s Money
- Woof, Meow, Hiss! Township Looking At Animal Control
- Township Threat Pays Off; Rupert Repairs In Progress
6 Responses to “After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge Flags were raised about guide rails on the Sunnybrook Road bridge, north of East High Street, back in 2009. It’s taken three years to reach a compromise and install a finally approved fix. [...]
[...] After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge Flags were raised about guide rails on the Sunnybrook Road bridge, north of East High Street, back in 2009. It’s taken three years to reach a compromise and install a finally approved fix. [...]
[...] After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge Flags were raised about guide rails on the Sunnybrook Road bridge, north of East High Street, back in 2009. It’s taken three years to reach a compromise and install a finally approved fix. [...]
[...] After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge Flags were raised about guide rails on the Sunnybrook Road bridge, north of East High Street, back in 2009. It’s taken three years to reach a compromise and install a finally approved fix. [...]
[...] After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge Flags were raised about guide rails on the Sunnybrook Road bridge, north of East High Street, back in 2009. It’s taken three years to reach a compromise and install a finally approved fix. [...]
[...] After Years Of Debate, PennDOT OKs Sunnybrook Bridge Flags were raised about guide rails on the Sunnybrook Road bridge, north of East High Street, back in 2009. It’s taken three years to reach a compromise and install a finally approved fix. [...]