Changes to Route 926 Bridge project concerns supervisors

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on January 18, 2011

A sudden change to the plans
for the Route 926 Bridge over the Brandywine has Birmingham Township supervisors
concerned. They fear the changes will mean the bridge will still be unusable
when the creek floods, even after the rebuild.

The bridge is the main artery
between Birmingham and Pocopson townships and to and from Pocopson Elementary
School.

Birmingham Supervisors’
Chairman John Conklin said he and the other supervisors learned on Jan. 10 that
a change in the plans shows no buildup of the approaches to the bridge even
though the span itself will be replaced and raised.

“Without building up the approaches
the road will still flood,” Conklin said. “We’ll still need to shut down the
road four times per year.”

Another change to the project
is that the bridge itself will be two feet lower than what the 2003 plan called
for, but Conklin said the new span will still be higher than the current one.

Supervisors voted to send a
letter expressing their concerns to state legislators and to the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation with the hope of getting the roadway included
again. They need to work quickly, Conklin said, because PennDOT will begin letting
the contract later this year and work is supposed to start in 2012.

Officials expect the bridge
will be closed for 15 to 18 months. Routes 1 and 52 will be the official detour
routes.

Other business

• Mark Langer, chairman of the
Recreation, Parks and Open Space Committee, said RPOS members are continuing to
solicit interest and volunteers for the township’s proposed 325^th
anniversary celebration, tentatively planned for Aug. 27.

Langer said no decisions have
yet been made on the specifics of what will be included as part of the
celebration.

• Sand sculptor and pumpkin
carver Chuck Feld was appointed to the RPOS. Feld will serve a term through
2015.

• Mark Gross was reappointed to
another term on the Historical Commission. That term, too, runs through 2015.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.