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For Watervale crossing of Winters Run; Temporary bridgeplans being made

BY L’OREAL THOMPSON

Posted 10/02/09

Highway engineers are busy working on a temporary bridge to replace one of Harford County’s oldest road bridges in continuous use.

More than 100 years after the Watervale Road bridge was built, the one-lane roadway will soon have two lanes, according to Jeff Stratmeyer, chief engineer for the department of public works.

The Watervale Road bridge, which has been closed since August, crosses Winters Run and is often used as a shortcut between Bel Air and Fallston.

“Right now, we are working on getting the temporary bridge ready to get into place,” Stratmeyer said. “It hadn’t been used in a while, so we’re doing a bit of maintenance. We also had to get some designs before we put it in there. We couldn’t take out the old bridge and slap a new one in there.”

When the bridge was initially closed, its steel truss and wooden plank deck were dismantled. Stratmeyer said the temporary bridge should be ready within the next six weeks.

Meanwhile, engineers are reviewing designs for a permanent two-lane bridge structure, according to Stratmeyer.

“We’re looking at finishing that and going back to the public by a January or February time frame and give them an update of the status of the project,” Stratmeyer said.

The county has been looking at renovating the Watervale Road bridge since the early 1990s, according to Stratmeyer.

“It’s over 100 years old. It’s a single-lane bridge. It’s deteriorated and needs to have been replaced for quite a while,” Stratmeyer said.

The bridge is also perched, which means it sits up higher than the road “so the sight distance isn’t very good,” Stratmeyer said.

To the east side of the bridge, Watervale Road dead-ends into Vale Road and causes traffic delays.

“It’s a single lane into an intersection, which is not very safe along those lines either,” Stratmeyer said.

According to Bob Thomas, county government spokesman, the old bridge is an historic structure and will be maintained for future use, but not as a vehicular bridge.

There had been discussion last summer that the bridge would be cleaned up and installed in Havre de Grace to connect part of the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway trail. The status of that proposal is uncertain and Thomas would not elaborate further on the county’s plans.

“We’re trying to create a bridge that will fit in nicely into the community and the scenic area,” Stratmeyer said. “There is direction to proceed with a two-lane bridge at this time. We will have a public information meeting sometime in January or February.”