Springfield Township - Route 670 Bridge - August 2007

SPRINGFIELD -The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the county unveiled plans on Aug. 15 to rehabilitate the Route 670 bridge.
   The bridge, built in 1941, crosses over a branch of the Assiscunk Creek (Barker's Brook) and has been labeled "structurally deficient and functionally obsolete," according to the county.
   Wayne A. Faulkner, a project manager from Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., and Gary D. Worek, a principal civil engineer with the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, told a small group gathered at the Springfield Municipal Building that "structurally deficient" does not mean that it is unsafe to drive over. They said it means that a certain part of the bridge (substructure, top, or base) received a rating of four or higher (with one meaning the bridge is in excellent condition). He also said that the bridge is inspected every two years.
   The deck and superstructure (the steel beams underneath the bridge) are in poor condition, Mr. Faulkner said.
   During a slideshow presentation of the plan to rehabilitate the bridge, photographs showed rusting steel beams, and aged concrete on the underside of the bridge. The repair will take place on the deck of the bridge and the superstructure, which is the underside of the bridge.
   The goal of the project is to extend the life of the bridge, while providing legal load carrying capacity, Mr. Faulkner said. The two-lane bridge will be widened slightly to a width of 32 feet. The bridge now measures 30 feet across and has a 10-ton weight limit.
   The rehabilitation cost is estimated between $466,000 and $500,000, said Mr. Faulkner, and would be federally funded.
   Since the bridge does not have enough room to maintain two lanes of traffic on it while it is under construction, there will be a detour set in place during the two and a half months of construction.
   The detour will be Routes 670, 628 (Jacksonville-Hedding Road), and 543 (Columbus Road) and Route 206. The length of the detour is approximately five and a half miles from the west side of the bridge to the east side.
   County officials are estimating that the final plans for the bridge will be completed in 2008, and that construction will take place in 2009.
   Residents at the meeting were encouraged to ask questions about the repair and to how it would impact them.
   One resident, JoAnn Bauma-Banks, asked if the repairs could wait until November 2009, since there are numerous farmers markets in the area that are open from Easter until Halloween.
   "We are an agricultural community," said Ms. Bauma-Banks.
   She said Bauma Markets, McCallister's Nursery, and April's Market are all in the area of construction and would feel a negative impact if the construction began on the bridge during the farm market season.
   According to county records, approximately 6,000 cars drive over the bridge every day.
   Mr. Faulkner and Mr. Worek said residents comments would be taken into consideration.
   "This plan would be carried out with a lot of cooperation from both fire departments," added Mr. Faulkner.
   The North Hanover Township Jacobstown Volunteer Fire Company is located on the left side of the bridge, while the Springfield Township Fire Company is located to the right of the bridge.