The Sanatoga Post

POTTSTOWN PA – By tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011), the South Keim Street bridge crossing the Schuylkill River between the borough of Pottstown and North Coventry (PA) Township will have been officially closed for 12 months. Montgomery County officials initially predicted it would be barricaded for only eight weeks.

Those same officials would likely agree it’s been a rocky year for the bridge that once carried 9,400 vehicles a day from the river’s banks.

The Keim Street span across the Schuylkill River will have been closed one year this week

The bridge was closed temporarily Oct. 19, 2010, when structural problems were suspected. The county later determined it to be unsound, closed it permanently, and established new detours to get around it. Cost estimates for its repair or replacement ranged into the millions of dollars. At one point, Pottstown Borough Council created an uproar by suggesting removal of the bridge so that money, if allocated, might be used on other projects.

Because of the detours, a significant increase in motor vehicle traffic now travels east and west on Industrial Highway through Lower Pottsgrove to use the Hanover Street, Pottstown, bridge for crossing the Schuylkill. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation several months ago installed signals at Industrial Highway and Moser Road to help control traffic flow there.

Think of those events now, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township engineering representative Chad Camburn said earlier this month, as somewhat ancient history. Although the bridge is still closed the good news, he told members of the Board of Commissioners during their Oct. 3 meeting, is that it’s officially important … again.

Members of the Pottstown Area Traffic Group, an organization formed to deal with potential traffic problems when the closure became effective, “now all agree the bridge is important to them and should be re-opened,” said Camburn, who is employed by township engineers Bursich Associates. That includes Pottstown and North Coventry, the two municipalities most affected by the closure.

Moreover, Camburn said, Chester County recognizes it must play a role in refurbishing the bridge, which could take years to be both funded and completed. Cost-sharing alternatives between Montgomery and Chester counties are being explored, he told commissioners.

Commissioners had no public comment on the traffic group’s consensus, but thanked Camburn for the report.

Related:

• Wednesday Anniversary: Keim Bridge Closed 1 Year
• Next Move On Keim Street Bridge Possible Next Week
• New Traffic Solution On Keim Bridge Detour Route
• 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

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Oct. 3):

• Wednesday Anniversary: Keim Bridge Closed 1 Year
• Red Tape Stalls Repairs At 422 And Armand Hammer
• Townships Talk About Coordinating Fun And Games
• Local Fire Crews In Schools This Week, Teaching Safety
• Township Bends To Give Garbage Bidders Choices
• The Problems At Pruss Hill Lurk Beneath Its Bridge
• Police Detail At Limerick Hearings Cost $1,468
• Pruss Hill Bridge Might Re-Open With Weight Limit

The Keim Street span across the Schuylkill River has been closed for more than 10 months

Click to enlarge this image at Google Maps

POTTSTOWN PA – What happens next with the now-closed Keim Street bridge across the Schuylkill River, which made it easier to commute from U.S. Route 422 and Route 724 in Kenilworth north to both Lower Pottsgrove and Pottstown via Industrial Highway, could be decided next Monday (Aug. 8, 2011) by the Montgomery County (PA) Commissioners.

During its meeting last month, members of the Pottstown Area Traffic Group reportedly were told the county Planning Commission would recommend county commissioners approve the approximately $150,000 cost of a study to determine alternatives for re-opening the bridge. It was barricaded last October after being deemed structurally deficient and potentially hazardous.

The study would be conducted by Traffic Planning and Design Inc. of Sanatoga, and would include an analysis of whether the existing bridge could be sufficiently repaired; whether it should be replaced in its current location, or relocated to realign it with other roads to improve traffic flow; or whether it should remain closed or be dismantled.

Announcements about the bridge, made Monday (Aug. 1) to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners by Scott Exley, president of Bursich Associates, the township’s engineering firm, left at least one board member scratching his head. “We’re planning to spend this money just to decide our next move?,” asked a somewhat incredulous Commissioner James Phillips.

“That’s right,” Exley answered.

Both the township and borough have made accommodations for motorists who must now take other routes to cross the river while avoiding the bridge. In January (2011), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation erected a traffic signal for increased safety at the intersection of Moser Road and Industrial Highway, on the border line between the municipalities, to better control heavier traffic in the area. They share the cost of its operation.

The traffic group meets 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.

Related:

• Next Move On Keim Street Bridge Possible Next Week
• New Traffic Solution On Keim Bridge Detour Route
• 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

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Aug. 1):

• Next Move On Keim Street Bridge Possible Next Week
• Several Report Interest In Township Planning Vacancy
• Army Band May Return, Thanks To Impressive Crowd
• Whack Away At Unsightly Weeds, Township Pleads
• July Tax Payments Trickle In At A Rate Of $528 Per Day
• Tax Settlements: An Awful Lot Of Paperwork To Net $677
• Lower Pottsgrove’s June 2011 Warrants Now Online
• Bridge, Guardrail Study Proposed For Pruss Hill Road
• Township 2009 Sex Offender Law ‘Might Not Stand Up’
• Commissioners OK KenCrest ‘Temporary’ Grenhouse
• Commissioners Gather For First August Meeting

NEW TRAFFIC SIGNALS OPERATING AT INTERSECTION – A series of new traffic control signals, promised in December (2010) by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to better regulate vehicular movement at the intersection of Industrial Highway and Moser Road on the west edge of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, have now been installed. PennDOT told the township and the Borough of Pottstown it deemed the signals (seen, above, from Industrial Highway looking west; and below, from Moser Road looking north) were necessary due to increased traffic from detours created by the October 2010 closing of the South Keim Street bridge. The deteriorated bridge, which crosses the Schuylkill River, is less than a mile west of the intersection. The two municipalities are sharing the cost, reported to be about $30 a month, to provide electricity for the signals.

Related:

• New Traffic Solution On Keim Bridge Detour Route
• 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

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

Because the South Keim Street bridge may be closed for awhile, PennDOT plans to install a traffic signal at the corner of Moser Road and Industrial Highway.

POTTSTOWN PA – There’s apparently no such thing as a “quickie” in the lexicon of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Board of Commissioners learned Monday (Dec. 6, 2010).

In what it described as “an experiment,” according to Manager Rodney Hawthorne, PennDOT has notified the township of plans in coming weeks to erect a traffic signal for increased safety at the intersection of Moser Road and Industrial Highway, on the border line between Lower Pottsgrove and Pottstown borough. PennDOT foresees heavier traffic in the area as a result of the closing of the South Keim Street bridge, less than a mile west.

The length of its experiment? Three years, Hawthorne reported, which seems to cast serious doubt on the state’s ability or desire to repair and reopen the bridge in the near future.

“You gotta love PennDOT,” board President Jonathan Spadt said, laughing.

The bridge was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in mid-October (2010), following an inspection by a PennDOT consulting engineer who deemed it to be structurally deficient. Until its closing, about 9,400 vehicles a day used the bridge to cross the Schuylkill River between Industrial Highway in Pottstown and Route 724 in North Coventry.

After it closed, Montgomery County officials hopefully proclaimed it would take about eight weeks – approximately through mid-December – to determine the extent of repairs needed to the bridge and their costs. That’s already finished, said Commissioner James Phillips, who also is chairman of the Pottstown Area Council of Governments (COG).

The results, COG members learned, aren’t cheery. PennDOT budgeted about $5 million for the bridge work, but repairs probably would cost twice that amount, approaching $10 million. Complete replacement of the bridge is estimated at about $15 million, Phillips said. Given the replacement cost, he indicated, the state ultimately may determine simply repairing the span is not cost-effective.

“It isn’t going to be fixed any time soon, that’s for sure,” Phillips said of the bridge.

Hawthorne said he and Borough Manager Jason Bobst are working out details on which municipalities will provide electricity for, and maintain, the traffic light.

Related:

• 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

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Dec. 6):

• With Keim Bridge Out, Signal Coming In To Lower Pottsgrove
• Township OKs New Fire Police Law, Approves Members
• Township, Moyer Estate Settle Late Treasurer’s Accounts
• Commissioners Meet Tonight, With A Busy Agenda

The Keim Street bridge shows its deterioration.

POTTSTOWN PA -If he had his “druthers,” North Coventry (PA) Township’s Andy Paravis, chairman of its Board of Supervisors, would rather re-align South Keim Street across the Schuylkill River – and invest a few million dollars in a new bridge to do it – than spend money to repair the existing bridge between the borough of Pottstown and the township.

That’s the primary message in the latest installment of interviews videotaped by the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association (GVFTMA).

Paravis talks about the bridge following its abrupt closure two weeks ago, when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation deemed it unsafe. The interview was posted by GVFTMA on Thursday (Nov. 4, 2010).

• Watch the video, above, or see it at the association’s YouTube account.

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.

Related:

• County Closes Keim Street Bridge Over Schuylkill