OSCEOLA MILLS – By late afternoon today, the Osceola Mills truss bridge will be temporarily re-opened as work is halted until spring.
The re-opening will allow area residents to use the bridge for the remaining winter months. The bridge spans Moshannon Creek in Osceola Mills along Route 2051 in Clearfield County and Route 3049 in Centre County.
Repairs to the bridge began in June and proved to be more extensive than originally planned, requiring crews to work well into the winter months. PennDOT expects the bridge to re-open to traffic by 5 p.m. today.
While major, structural repairs are complete, PennDOT plans to close the bridge again in mid-April to finish the remaining work on the project. That work will include deck repairs, a latex deck overlay, approach slabs, sidewalks and curbing. Once all work is finished, PennDOT will remove the bridge from its list of structurally deficient bridges.
The bridge was originally built in 1932, is 113 feet long and carries an average of 940 vehicles each day. Francis J. Palo Inc. of Clarion is the contractor for this $1.2 million job.
Drivers are reminded to obey posted speed limits and always buckle up.
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