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Greene County maintenance workers hoist a height clearance sign Monday morning as they prepared to reopen the Pollocks Mill Bridge to traffic. An oversized water tanker trying to cross the bridge severely damaged the span when it partially collapsed in September 2014.
This Observer-Reporter file photo shows the oversized water tanker that collapsed a portion of the Pollocks Mill Bridge in September 2014.
MATHER – The Pollocks Mill Bridge, which had been closed for more than a year after an oversized water tanker severely damaged the span in September 2014, reopened to traffic Monday.
An inspection conducted last week showed the 137-year-old bridge is structurally safe after extensive repairs were made to the wooden deck, along with several other safety improvements.
The state Department of Transportation approved the inspection report Monday, giving workers from Greene County’s maintenance department the green light to remove chain-linked fences blocking traffic from crossing the bridge deck.
“We’re glad the bridge is open again,” county Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said.
The bridge near Mather that crosses Ten Mile Creek between Morgan and Jefferson townships partially collapsed Sept. 28, 2014, when a Buccaneer Enterprises truck attempted to cross it. The truck hauling fresh water weighed about 16.5 tons – more than four times the restricted weight limit for the bridge – to an EQT well site when it partially fell through the deck.
The repairs began in last September and were completed last month. Crews reused some of the old materials to save money on the project, which allowed them to add other features such as “rub rails” on each side and clearance height warning bars hanging from the entrances. New wooden planks were installed across the deck, but the bridge’s weight restriction will remain at 4 tons.
Marshall said the final cost of construction is expected to be $375,630, although that figure does not include engineering work or the final inspection report. Still, the project cost is about $20,000 less than the initial estimate from Carmen Paliotta Contracting of South Park that the county commissioners approved in July.
The county received a $245,000 settlement from Buccaneer Enterprises Inc. of Buckhannon, W.Va., for the damage to the bridge. EQT also gave the county $75,000 last year in an attempt to bridge the gap between the settlement and construction costs.
Marshall said the county is still working to recoup the remaining $75,000 in overall costs.
“We’re hoping when everything is said and done the bridge is repaired and the county is made whole,” Marshall said.