BIRMINGHAM — The state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the emergency closure of Birmingham Road at Radley Run because of structural damage found on the bridge. PennDOT said Tuesday that the bridge will be closed indefinitely.
During the bridge closure, Birmingham Road through traffic will be detoured over Route 52 (Lenape Road), Creek Road and Route 926 (Street Road). Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone. Motorists are advised to allow extra time when traveling through the area.
It was not immediately clear whether this bridge closure would have any impact on the planned closure of the Route 926 bridge over the Brandywine. It was expected some additional traffic would be routed across Birmingham Road with the closure of both 926 and Creek Road during the project. Without Birmingham Road open, the detour would longer for local motorists.
PennDOT said Tuesday that bridge engineers had examined the structural damage and determined a stone masonry abutment had sustained severe deterioration. Engineers will develop a plan to repair the structural damage, but no timeframe to reopen the span was announced.
PennDOT has already been under some fire in the area for an inability to repair roadways savaged by a brutal winter — and has been seeking help from local municipalities to get the roads repaired.
The narrow one-span steel beam bridge was built in 1938. It is 15 feet long and 26 feet wide — and sits just short distance from Route 52. The structure previously had an 18-ton weight limit and carried an average of 3,553 vehicles a day when it closed.
Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 770 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly.
