Crews Race to Secure Bridge Before Storm

Some of the crew working on the Sugartown Road Bridge Construction project at Church Road in Easttowb worked through a scheduled day off Friday to secure the construction site, equipment, and materials in advance of Hurricane Irene's expected arrival in the area.

A township engineer and an engineer working for PennDOT (Sugartown Road is a state highway) both told Patch that workers were spending the day securing the site and taking steps to prevent soil and sediment from running off into the branch of Darby Creek that runs under the bridge.

According to one engineer on the site, the creek is normally about four feet deep under the bridge. The deluge expected from the approaching storm could easily send the creek spilling over its banks and potentially on to road on each side of the bridge.

The bridge has been closed since August 11. The road bed has already been replaced, but the blacktop surface has not yet been poured. The concrete side walls of the bridge, had been scheduled to be poured on Monday. That may have to be delayed depending on the water level.

The project is scheduled to run between three and four months, according to PennDOT.