SHA says crews will replace the deck.
Keymar, Md (KM), Detours will be set up next month for motorists who use the Route 194 (Woodsboro Pike) bridge over Little Pipe Creek along the Frederick and Carroll County line. The State Highway Administration says it will be a rehabilitation of the span.
“The Maryland 194 over Little Pipe Creek bridge is in need of a new driving surface, which is the bridge deck, which people are used to going over,” says SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar. “It’s pretty much outlived its useful life. The bridge is 64-years old.”
SHA says the steel girder bridge itself is safe.
After the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, Gischlar says crews will start cleaning and painting the steel beams. “It’s a smaller structure so it won’t take forever to do that,” he says.
“Come June 17th, after the schools let out, it’s get going to be a closure, a complete closure and detour of that bridge,” says Gischlar. “That way we can expedite it, get it finished by the end of the summer.”
SHA says the work will include replacing the existing deck with a wider surface to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, doing minor concrete repairs, installing new metal railings and paving and striping the bridge. Gischlar says the project should be completed by September 4th.
The cost of the project is estimated at $1.8-million.
Route 77 (Middleburg Road) will be used as a detour for motorists. SHA says drivers should plan on giving themselves extra time to get to their destinations.
Gischlar says this is part of Governor Larry Hogan’s plan to repair or replace deficient bridges around Maryland. “There is a major effort, and we’re tackling a lot of these. As a matter of fact, I think we have 35 projects that are actually underway or soon to be underway across the state, attacking that 69 number that we have of structurally deficient bridges of Maryland 2500 bridges that we maintain here,” he says.
SHA says 4300 motorists use the Route 194 bridge over Little Pipe Creek on a daily basis.
By Kevin McManus