NEWS
Montgomery County Office of Communications
Court House, Norristown, PA, Box 311, 19404-0311
Phone : 610-278-3061 Fax : 278-5959
Commissioners : James R. Matthews Chairman, Thomas Jay Ellis, Esq., Ruth S. Damsker
RELEASE: 10/05/04 PR#04-35
VALLEY GREEN ROAD BRIDGE SET TO REOPEN IN COUPLE OF WEEKS
WHITEMARSH — Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews will inspect ongoing construction Friday (October 8th) on the Valley Green Road Bridge in anticipation of it being reopened to traffic by the following Friday, October 15th.
"This bridge is a vital link between the residents and businesses of Whitemarsh and Springfield townships as well as commuters in the eastern end of Montgomery County trying to get to and from the Blue Route, Turnpike, Norristown and points west," Matthews said.
"I want to see for myself what our Roads and Bridges crews are doing so I feel satisfied that, once they’re done, we won’t have to close that bridge again until we have sufficient state funding to reconstruct it entirely and in a timely fashion," he said.
The County is paying about $60,000 out of its budget surplus to get the bridge reopened quickly. It was closed to traffic July 9 after a bi-annual inspection by PennDOT found a crack in a steel diagonal tension bar on the side of the bridge.
The repairs involve replacing a half-dozen steel diagonal tension bars and more than a dozen steel beams that provide direct support to the bridge and masonry work to the bridge abutments.
