The new bridge over White Oak Creek on SR 125 west of Georgetown will be open in late August or early September.
That’s the latest word from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
But there are going to be some traffic issues to get through before the new bridge is open.
Over the next two weeks, partial or sometimes complete closures of SR 125 for a few minutes of time will be necessary so construction crews can deliver steel to the site for the deck of the new bridge.
“The bridge should be complete and ready for traffic in late August or early September. There will still be some traffic restrictions in effect because we have to demolish the old structure,” said ODOT District Nine Public Information Officer Matthew McGuire.
The project is expected to be completely finished in November.
McGuire said that the time to replace the bridge had come.
“Bridges are like any other structure. They have a service life when they are designed and built. Eventually, the cost of maintaining a structure will begin to exceed the cost of building something new,” he said.
The $8.2 million project is expected to last 100 years. McGuire said that the initial deck is expected to last 25 years before an overlay, which will extend the life to 50 years.
At that point, the deck is replaced, with another overlay at 75 years of life before the bridge would be replaced in 100 years.
“When we build something new, we are able to maintain a higher quality structure and therefore a better quality road for the traveling public for a longer period of time,” McGuire said.
He added that he appreciated the patience of the driving public with the project so far and asked that drivers continue to watch out for the safety of the construction crew when driving through the area.
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