After 17 months of being closed, Twin Bridges, the span over the Brandywine on S. Creek Road, is now open. According to PennDOT, the rebuilding project cost $15.4 million.
The bridge reopened shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday with a brief ceremony. Speaking was state Rep. Craig Williams, R-160, and with a brief comment by state Sen. John Kane, D-9.
“Not only am I the state representative for this area, but I’m also a resident and a neighbor, and I absolutely love where we live, just like you do. The only thing that makes me nuts about where I live is my driving experience. The best thing that Senator Kane and I do together is a project like this. It improves the living experience of our community. So, this is truly a great day.”
Williams commented on the fact that the original bridge was built in 1925 and said that’s the significance in that on joins Chester and Delaware counties.
He also said that he recently returned from Harrisburg, where the legislature just passed a state budget that was overwhelmingly bipartisan in both the House and the Senate.
“When you put your mind to it, you can build a budget, and you can build a bridge. One literal, the other metaphorical. So, what a great day.”
Williams went on tio thank numerous people, the supervisors in both Chadds Ford and Pennsbury townships, PennDOT, and the work crews who brought the project in on time.
He later said that the pandemic delayed the start of the project, “but then they were done in 16-18 months, just an absolute feat of engineering.”
Kane’s remarks were very brief, simply alluding to the longevity of the new bridge.
“I came from the construction industry, and one of the things that we always prided ourselves on was that when we finished a project, we could look back on it knowing that it’s going to be here a lot longer than we are.”
In early talks about replacing the bridge — it was deteriorating, had exposed rebar, and was in questionable condition — there was consideration of actually moving the bridge to the side, but the replacement follows the original placement.
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.
