Rittenhouse Road repairs nearly done
Bridge was damaged twice in 2019
A bridge that’s been damaged for nearly a year could soon be ready to handle traffic again.
Township officials gave an update Wednesday night on repairs, now nearly complete, to a damaged culvert on Rittenhouse Road.
“The project is progressing nicely. The culvert is installed, the wing walls are in, and you can see the precast slab culvert and the wing walls,” said supervisor Rich Marino.
In July 2019 the bridge was damaged by an auto accident, causing a closure for two weeks as the damage was evaluated. Later that month Rittenhouse Road was temporarily changed to one-way only when the bridge reopened, and the one-way was made permanent on Sept. 11, days before a second accident on Sept. 20 did further damage requiring a closure.
Last October, the township’s engineer said repairs might be finished faster under an emergency repair classification, and in November the board bid out the purchase of a new prefabricated culvert to save time over having one custom-made. Emergency state permits were finalized in December, in January the board bought the prefabricated culvert for roughly $14,000, and in February awarded a $104,000 contract for the construction. In March the engineer said work was ready to begin pending permission from the state and work by the North Penn Water Authority to modify a 16-inch water main close to the culvert, and in April the latest
update was that the culvert would be on site and ready for installation in early May once state limits on construction activity were lifted. Staff have said they are pursing the drivers involved in the accident for compensation to cover the cost of the repairs, and that the one-way or two-way traffic flow will be part of a traffic study once the road reopens and coronavirusrelated travel restrictions are lifted.Marino and township Engineer Tom Zarko gave an update Wednesday night, as part of their report on recent Public Works-related activities in the township. As they spoke, they pointed out details on photos Marino took at the site on the way to the supervisors meeting, with the photos projected in the township building meeting room and on an online video stream. As of Wednesday night, timbers could be seen sticking out above the precast culvert, with newly settled stone below and gravel atop the culvert.
“They anticipate they will be paving either Friday or Monday,” Zarko said.
Final inspection of the newly repaved roadway could be done as soon as the end of next week, on or around June 19, with the reopening possible shortly thereafter and formal announcements from the township once it happens, Zarko and Marino said.
“The project is coming along nicely,” Marino said.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7:30 p.m. on June 24; for more information visit www.Towamencin.org.