Evan Manor bridge to be replaced
Plans are moving forward to replace the aging Evans Manor bridge in North Union Township within the next three years, at an estimated cost of $4 million. Bill Beaumariage, project manager for PennDOT District 12, said the two-girder bridge is in need of replacement, which may occur in 2008.
During the project, the bridge will be closed and traffic from Connellsville Street will have to be detoured because of the way the bridge was built.
The planned detour will require drivers to use Evans Station Road, which is currently a dead-end, to cross railroad tracks and continue on Connellsville Street.
Beaumariage said Evans Station Road will be improved before it is opened to traffic and will be a dead-end road again once the project is complete.
He said several possible detours were explored, but most required too much excess travel.
“We didn’t want to send traffic through town, and this was the best way to avoid that,” he said.
The bridge will be replaced in its existing location and will require no changes to Connellsville Street. Beaumariage said much of the work will be done during the summer months to avoid delays for school buses transporting students in the Laurel Highlands School District.
“The goal is to have this project done as quickly as possible,” he said. “We’re going to fast-track construction to keep the road closed as little as we can.”
He said preliminary engineering work is ongoing, and noted that funding for the project is not earmarked until 2007 or 2008.
Last week, the North Union Township supervisors discussed possible changes to two polling places when Evans Station Road is used as the detour for the bridge replacement project.
Voters who used the former Kennedy Elementary School as their polling place now use the township office as their voting precinct, while voters in the Hopwood area use the township meeting room to cast their ballots.
The township building and sewage authority offices are located along Evans Station Road.