Shaffer Bridge closing for repairs
A traffic detour is to start next week as work begins to rehabilitate the Shaffer covered bridge in Conemaugh Township.
The Somerset County Commissioners announced Tuesday that the bridge would be closed to traffic from July 5 until work on the bridge is completed, which is scheduled to take 30 days to 60 days. Thornbury, Inc., of West Sunbury, is the contractor. A traffic detour is to be posted in the area while the work is in progress.
Looking back:Did you know there are 10 covered bridges in Somerset County you can drive or walk on?
Approximately 50 vehicles per day drive across the historic covered bridge, originally built in 1877 to cross Bens Creek and give residents of Covered Bridge Road access to state Route 985, also known as the Somerset Pike.
Funding:Somerset County awarded $100K grant to make permanent repairs to Shaffer Covered Bridge
Significant structural issues were identified at Shaffer Bridge in June 2019, at which time temporary repairs, including steel columns and I-beam supports, were made to allow the bridge to reopen to traffic in early 2020.
Somerset County was awarded a $100,000 Multimodal Transportation grant in April 2021 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to make the permanent repairs to Shaffer Bridge.
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This bridge is one of 10 historic covered bridges in Somerset County, six of which are county-owned.