Jan 10, 2022 3 min read

While few people live on Ullom Road in Chartiers Township, as it’s mostly industrial, those who do are concerned about safety.

Gary Walsh built a house there four years ago. Among the issues he and his neighbors are having has been a disregard for the three-ton weight limit on a small bridge that crosses the Westland Run stream.

Ullom provides a shortcut to Route 519, and Walsh has reported seeing large commercial vehicles that well exceed the weight limit to travel over the bridge.

“I stopped a cement truck,” Walsh said, explaining that he told the driver he can’t cross the bridge. “He said, ‘Well I know, but I had no other way to go.'”

Recently, the bridge was reinforced with wooden supports.

“They just did that last year, I think. That’s a joke,” said Scott Teagarden, Walsh’s neighbor.

Teagarden has lived on Ullom much longer than Walsh – 23 years. In his experience, the weight limit has been “totally ignored.”

Walsh said he once approached township about the bridge, but was told it is a county-owned span.

Township Manager Jodi Noble confirmed the bridge does not fall under the purview of Chartiers Township, but rather the Washington County Bridge Department.

Lisa Cessna, the county’s director of planning, said her department has not received any complaints about the bridge.

As far as vehicles that exceed weight limit, Cessna acknowledged it is difficult to stop those drivers.

“It’s hard to do anything to enforce that. Drivers tend to ignore posted signs,” Cessna said.

While Noble said she did not recall receiving any complaints about the bridge specifically, she said they have heard from residents on other safety issues.

“There has been some concern on wet days or very hot days about the condition of the asphalt. We have asked the township engineer to review that, so we can look at it,” Noble said.

Walsh said drivers frequently speed down the road, and that it leads to accidents. On multiple occasions, he said, cars have gone off the road onto his property.

“Drive when it rains? That is a whole new ballgame,” Walsh said.

Teagarden has had similar problems with cars ending up in his yard. He speculated some of that was due to tarring and chipping of Ullom in recent years.

According to records kept by Chartiers Township police, officers have responded to 73 accidents on Ullom since 1995. Two of those involved fatalities.

Both Walsh and Teagarden said that accidents occur there that police are not called to.

They feel there should be more enforcement for speeders on Ullom.

Chartiers police Chief James Horvath said the department’s 13 officers are required to do traffic checks during their shifts, and they try to cast as wide a net as possible.

However, he added that they get complaints about speeding on most township roads.

Noble expressed a similar sentiment.

“As with literally every road in the township, there are speeding complaints. Unfortunately, everyone is in a hurry, and they don’t pay attention to speed limits. That is a concern we pay attention to on every road,” Noble said.