PennDOT civil engineer supervisor Ed Grove points out information on one of four charts set up for a presentation at the city’s Margaret Avenue training facility Tuesday evening on bridge rehabilitations that will take place next year. Mirror photo by William Kibler

PennDOT representatives held an informational presentation Tuesday for municipal officials and residents on its plans to rehabilitate four small bridges next year — two in the city, one in Sinking Valley and one in Greenfield Township.

A handful of municipal officials came, as did a pair of Greenfield residents who were able to correct a mistaken impression they’d had about the nature of the project.

The plans call for a single contractor to strip off the asphalt decks of the bridges to expose the concrete beams underneath, lined up parallel to the direction of traffic with no space between them, then to drill into the beams to partially embed rebar that will protrude into the space where the contractor will pour a new concrete deck, creating a “composite” deck unit, according to PennDOT civil engineer supervisor Ed Grove.

While the beams are currently tied together with post tension rods that run perpendicular to the flow of traffic, they’re essentially independent of one another, such that the current asphalt deck isn’t as stable as the composite deck will be, according to Grove.

The work will be advertised for bids in December and contracts awarded for construction next spring and summer.

The project is estimated to cost about $890,000, an official said.

The bridges will be done one after another, although it’s not certain in what order, according to Grove.

The city bridges — one that takes Meadow Street over Brush Run and one that takes 13th Street over Brush Run — will each have one-block detours.

Those bridges are between Pleasant Valley and Valley View boulevards.

The Sinking Valley bridge that takes Sickles Corner Back Road over Sinking Run near the city-side intersection of the Back Road with Kettle Road will require a 6-mile detour.

The Greenfield Township bridge that takes Polecat Hollow Road over Polecat Run will have a 12-mile detour — although there are local roads that are familiar to local residents that could reduce that detour to about 8 miles, according to project officials.

The projects will take six to eight weeks apiece.

PennDOT will confer with school officials to determine whether there is a need to do any of the projects after school is out for summer due to issues with school bus detours, Grove said.

The city bridges were constructed in 1975.

The Greenfield bridge was constructed in 1973, while the Sinking Valley bridge was built in 1993.

The concrete beams on the city bridges are solid “plank” style, while the concrete beams on the other bridges are hollow box beams.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.