Bridge work will be done by fair debut

Published 12:00 am Monday, June 5, 2000

PROCTORVILLE – County residents worried about how they will get to the fair this summer can rest a little easier.

Monday, June 05, 2000

PROCTORVILLE – County residents worried about how they will get to the fair this summer can rest a little easier.

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Construction on the new Big Paddy Creek Bridge on Ohio 7 in Proctorville will not impede their travel to the Lawrence County Fairgrounds, said Holly Snedecor-Gray, Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 public information officer.

"(The project’s) on schedule," Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said. "They expect the bridge to be open sometime around the 30th of June. We do not anticipate the project interfering with the fair. The project is about 70 percent complete."

Crews began replacing the old bridge, which was built in 1938, at the end of February because of its deteriorated condition and in preparation for a third lane through Proctorville, Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said.

The existing steel beam bridge will be replaced with a new steel beam and concrete deck bridge, she added.

Contractors are scheduled to begin work on the deck this month, Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said.

"Right now they are forming the deck and they are getting ready to pour the concrete deck," she said. "They’re preparing to do that around the middle of the month."

Despite recent rains, all work has been completed on schedule and crews do not expect any future delays, Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said.

"The rains have had very little impact," she said. "The contractor has been able to schedule work around the rain. The only thing that really stops them is hard rain."

During the project, traffic has been detoured around Ohio 7 to Ohio 775 and County Road 405, or Irene Road.

Once the project is completed, two lanes will be marked on the bridge until the third-lane project is finished. Construction is scheduled to begin on the third lane in spring 2002.

Crews have already begun the first phase of the project, which includes the environmental study, design phase and the evaluation of public comment, Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said.

Right-of-way acquisition is scheduled for mid-summer and should be completed by early fall 2001.

The widening of Ohio 7 should take a year to a year and a half to complete and will cost about $4.5 million.