Reprieve for Lions Road bridge in Butler Township possible

PennDOT officials are reconsidering an announcement last month that the Lions Road bridge in Butler Township is unneeded and should be closed after local officials protested that the closing would disrupt everything from emergency responders to snow removal.

“We'd have to have responders, like fire and police, leave the township and then come back in to get to people. It would add 10 to 15 minutes,” Ed Kirkwood, township manager, said of the possible detour's impact.

PennDOT District 10 bridge engineer Jim Andrews said PennDOT has begun the preliminary engineering process for the replacement of the bridge. “At this time, the project is not funded for construction,” he said.

PennDOT's bridge project manager Ray Smith wrote the township in late July saying, “This bridge could be considered a redundant bridge. There is another crossing about 2,000 feet to the west and another about 3,000 feet to the east. Therefore we are considering closing this bridge and vacating the property.”

The bridge has collision damage and cannot be repaired, Smith said.

“A repair plan would include constructing a new superstructure,” Smith wrote to Kirkwood.

In a lengthy response letter to PennDOT, Kirkwood detailed problems a bridge closing could cause.

Vehicles from the township's three volunteer fire departments would have to detour to get into the new Wyncrest Estates development in the township's northwest section, he said.

Those same detours also would delay police response, he said.

The detours take vehicles outside Butler Township and onto Lions Road in neighboring Center, which Kirkwood said is a secondary road that floods easily.

A closed Lions Road bridge would slow trips by commuters and shoppers, Kirkwood said.

“It will impact the drive to work for many people and people shopping at Moraine Point Plaza, Butler Commons and Butler Crossing,” Kirkwood said.

It would also make clearing roads of snow and ice longer and more costly, Kirkwood said.

“The suggested alternative roads are hazardous in good weather and treacherous in the winter,” he said.

Rick Wills is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7944 or rwills@tribweb.com.