PennDOT: St. David's Bridge Opening 'Most Likely' Delayed

NEWTOWN SQUARE– It has already been nearly four months since construction to rehabilitate St. David's Road bridge began. An earlier predicted timeline had the bridge set to reopen in November, but because of Hurricane Sandy the bridge may reopen at a later date.

According to Brad Rudolph, a safety press officer for the Pennyslvania Department of Transportation, said that necessary precautions were taken before Sandy's arrival. 

"Before the storm hit, crews took the necessary precautions by removing scaffolding and other equipment at the construction site," said Rudolph.

Post Sandy, no damages were sustained from the storm and work will resume as soon as possible on the bridge, according to Rudolph.

Rudolph said the opening of St. David's Road bridge will "most likely" be delayed to an unknown date this time.

"Our preparations for Hurricane Sandy, along with over $100,000 worth of additions, will most likely delay the opening of St. David’s Road Bridge," said Rudolph. "However, an exact date is not known at this time. The end of November is still a possibility.

In a previous press release sent by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the rehabilitation project of the 202-year-old bridge consisted of the following: restoring the structurally deficient bridge by rebuilding its deteriorated bridge walls; reinforcing the deck; reinforcing the foundation underneath the support abutments; performing masonry repairs and installing new guide rail.

According to PennDOT, "When construction is completed, the 202-year-old stone arch bridge will once again carry northbound and southbound traffic and no longer be classified as structurally deficient."

Currently, drivers have been utilizing the posted detour which included the use of Darby Paoli Road, Goshen Road and Rt. 252/Newtown Street.

According to PennDOT, the St. David’s Road bridge was originally built in 1810.  It is 26 feet long and 24 feet wide. The bridge carries an average of 6,500 vehicles a day.

The project has been estimated to cost $454,000, which is part of PennDOT's $1.3 million project to rehabilitate three structurally deficient bridges. The other two bridges under the project include the Knowlton Road bridge over Chester Creek in Middletown Township and the Route 13 (Chester Pike) bridge over Muckinapattus Creek in Glenolden Borough.