RIDGWAY – By the end of the day, PennDOT will post new weight limits on a Route 219 bridge in Elk County. Once all signs are in place, the posting will be enforceable.
The Horton Township Bridge spans Mead Run just north of the village of Brockport and about three miles north of the intersection of Route 219 and Route 28 in Brockway. It will be posted for 36 tons for single vehicles and 40 tons for combination vehicles. The bridge was built in 1923 and carries an average of more than 5,300 vehicles daily. Trucks make up about 15 percent of the vehicle traffic crossing the bridge.
Posting the bridge has required advance detour signing for trucks. That signage appears along major routes in Elk, Jefferson, and Clearfield counties. Routes include Interstate 80 and then 153, 219, and 255 in Clearfield County, 28 and 219 in Jefferson County, and 153, 219, and 255 in Elk County. More than 125 signs were needed prior to officially posting the bridge.
In August, PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch authorized the transportation department to add or increase weight restrictions to about 1,000 structurally deficient bridges statewide. Reducing the weight traveling on these bridges will slow their deterioration and preserve safety until repairs or replacement can occur.
To view the bridges with new or lowered weight restrictions or to learn more about bridge weight restrictions and PennDOT’s bridge-inspection program, visit the PennDOT homepage at www.dot.state.pa.us and click on “Bridge Information.”
