Potter County: Route 2002 (West Branch Road) Bridge in West Branch Township Open to Traffic

Clearfield, PA – A West Branch Road (Route 2002) bridge in Potter County, reopened to traffic on Thursday, August 16. The bridge spans Lyman Run in West Branch Township and was replaced as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PennDOT) Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. Replacing the bridge allows PennDOT to remove it from the list of bridges in “poor” condition. With the bridge reopened, motorists may notice a slight bump as they drive across the bridge until a polyester polymer concrete (PPC) overlay is applied to the deck. This is often the final step in completing box beam bridge projects. The PPC overlay is designed to protect the deck from the wear and tear brought about by Pennsylvania’s harsh winters and reduce the long-term maintenance costs.

The polyester material can only be applied when temperatures are consistently above 40 degrees, dry weather is forecasted and after the bridge concrete has cured for at least 30 days. An alternating traffic pattern will be controlled by flaggers when the PPC overlay is applied in August 2018. 

To find out when the overlay will be applied to this structure, visit http://parapidbridges.com/polyesterpolymerconcreteoverlay.html. In the event of unfavorable weather, this schedule may change. Any such changes will be posted on the website. 

This bridge is referred to as JV-87 and is one out of the 558 bridges being replaced under the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. JV references the joint-venture partnership between Walsh/Granite, which is leading construction for the entire project. Replacement work for this bridge was performed by C.P. Ward, Inc. of Scottsville, NY.

The Rapid Bridge Replacement Project is a public-private partnership (P3) between PennDOT and Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP), under which PWKP will finance, design, replace, and maintain the bridges for 25 years. The P3 approach will allow PennDOT to replace the bridges more quickly while achieving significant savings and minimizing impacts on motorists.