Plans to be unveiled for Canonsburg Lake span
The 1940s-era bridge spanning Canonsburg Lake – and connecting Peters and North Strabane townships – is nearing the end of its life span.
“That bridge is deteriorating and will be completely replaced,” said Vince Ley, project engineer for Washington County Planning Commission.
Plans to raze the current structure and build a new, wider span will be revealed at a public meeting from 5 to 6 p.m. Feb. 16 at the North Strabane municipal building.
Handouts will be available and a planned detour also will be outlined at next week’s session.
Members of the design team, SAI Consulting Engineers of Pittsburgh, will answer questions and seek public input. SAI’s Bill Ferko is the project manager.
The county, which owns the span, organized the meeting along with the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
Known officially as Chartiers Creek Bridge No. 12, the span takes McDowell Lane from Peters – behind Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza – to Little Lake Theatre and the Mad Mex Lakeside restaurant.
The project will be part of the state Transportation Improvement Program and conducted under PennDOT’s auspices.
Ley described the current span as a “concrete through girder bridge” that, he believed, was constructed during World War II by Alcoa.
He said the new one will be made of COR-TEN steel, also known as weathering steel.
The trademark COR-TEN, according to Wikipedia, “is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.”