A problem discovered during an inspection prompted an emergency closure Wednesday of the Ramsey Road bridge near the Ligonier Township community of Wilpen.
Township manager Michael Strelic said township road crews had been keeping an eye on the decades-old steel grate span across Hannas Run and patched the bridge deck earlier this year. A recent inspection revealed a bridge abutment had been undermined and had dropped between 2 and 4 inches.
As a result, the township engineer recommended immediately closing the bridge.
“The bridge above the abutment hasn’t gone down yet, but some of the beams aren’t touching what they’re supposed to be touching,” Strelic said. “Raising an abutment is significant work and is going to take quite a while.”
He said the township may have to consider replacing the bridge rather than attempting to have it repaired.
“We can’t repair a bridge abutment in-house,” he said.
Strelic said there are about a dozen homes along Ramsay Road, which is a connector between Wilpen Road and Route 711.
Robb Road, which connects the same roads about a half mile to the south, will be a designated detour while the bridge remains closed.
