Rittenhouse Road bridge repair could take months
TOWAMENCIN >> Drivers, take note: if you use Rittenhouse Road in Towamencin often, it may be a while before you can do so again.
Staff are working to finalize a plan to allow one lane of the Rittenhouse Road bridge, damaged during a summer storm in mid-July, to reopen.
“There’s the kind of arched bridge that goes over the creek, which is owned by the county, and just beyond that, on the way towards the golf course, is a small little culvert, which is also a stone arch,” said Township Manager Rob Ford.
“It’s really small, and you wouldn’t even notice it if you’re looking ahead,” he said.
The culvert in question, located between Old Forty Foot Road and the Mainland golf course, was hit by a truck driving through a summer rainstorm on July 18, according to Ford.
That truck damaged the stone siding of the culvert, so police and township public works staff closed the road immediately between Old Forty Foot and
Clemens Road, and have since been working with the township’s engineering firm to determine if it’s safe and what repairs are needed.
The township’s structural engineer has assessed that the bridge can support traffic, but only passenger vehicles of 13 tons or less, and has recommended starting plans for a full repair.
“What we’ve recommended to the board is to, right now, keep the road closed, but we’re going to try to reopen it one-way, which would be one-way from Old Forty Foot toward the golf course,” Ford said.
Doing so will require a signage plan prepared by the traffic engineer and approved by PennDOT, and that approval could be finalized and the road partially reopened as soon as the week of Aug. 12, according to the manager. A more complete repair of the culvert will require a full bidding process and further permits from the state, which could take as long as 12 months, according to the manager.
The updated plan includes new signs indicating the road is one-way only, “Do not enter” signs from the other direction, and new four-way stop signs at the intersection of Rittenhouse Road with Clemens Road.
“Right now, we’ll get it reopened one-way, in the direction which we think is safer,” he said.
Staff have already notified the company that owns the truck that damaged the culvert that Towamencin
intends to seek reimbursement for the costs of repairs to the bridge, Ford added, and further updates will be publicized through the township’s social media channels, on the township website and in email newsletters.
High school stadium plans presented: The supervisors also heard on July 24 an update from North Penn School District officials on plans to renovate the district’s Crawford Stadium, adjacent to North Penn High School.
“The board authorized the preparation of a resolution, which will be at the next meeting, for preliminary and final land development approval,” Ford said.
School district officials and North Penn’s school board have discussed for the past year a series of building renovation and construction projects, including major upgrades to Crawford Stadium. Plans call for the current grass playing field to be replaced with an artificial surface with increased drainage, a wider running track surrounding it, wider concourses to provide better access for those with disabilities, and additional restroom and storage space.
North Penn’s school board facilities and operations committee next meets at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 and the full board next meets at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 15, both at the district Educational Services Center, 401 E. Hancock St. in Lansdale.
Stop sign approved: Towamencin’s board also voted on July 24 to approve a new stop sign at the T-intersection of Delaware Avenue and Winding Road.
In early July, Ford said residents in the area of that
intersection have raised concerns about traffic cutting through their neighborhood to avoid rush hour delays on nearby Valley Forge Road and Allentown Road. Staff recommended a new stop sign be installed on the north side of the intersection, on Delaware, where traffic going east-west on Winding Road will now continue straight through but southbound drivers must wait. The stop sign request was vetted and recommended by the township’s police department, and with board approval will now be installed as soon as possible, according to Ford.
Forty Foot Road widening proceeds: Ford also gave an update on work proceeding along Forty Foot Road, to widen the roadway where it currently narrows near its intersection
with Heebner Way and Tomlinson Road.
Over the past two years, Towamencin has secured two grants and one contribution of roughly $800,000 from developer PSDC to widen the roadway and reconfigure the current lanes and traffic signal there. A board vote on July 24 authorized a new traffic signal application be submitted to PennDOT for that intersection, according to Ford. In recent weeks the township’s engineering consultant has begun staking out the territory where the new lanes will be added, so the nearby school and business who will contribute strips of right-of-way can see exactly where the new lanes will go.
“I said ‘I think it would be helpful,’ and they agreed. It’s good to have those stakes, if you want to look
and physically see where the areas are, as opposed to on a piece of paper,” Ford said.
Construction on that road widening project is expected to begin in early 2020 and be complete by the end of that calendar year, he said.
Self storage talks tabled: The board also began on July 24, but tabled for a future meeting, talks on changing the township’s zoning code to allow self storage facilities within the township’s C-commercial district.
That discussion was prompted by a request from a company seeking
to develop storage facilities on Franklin Street, located just off of Sumneytown Pike near its intersection with Bustard Road. That code change has been vetted by the township’s planning commission, according to Ford, and the supervisors began talks on July 24, but tabled because only three of the board’s five members were present.
Talks on that potential code update could also continue at the supervisors’ Aug. 14 meeting, according to Ford. That meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road.