Open roads
Local motorists thrilled to have Port Royal bridge back
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PORT ROYAL -- If Pam Pray never sees another detour sign in Port Royal, it will be none too soon. The Port Royal woman was overjoyed that the Juniata River Bridge at Route 75 in Port Royal reopened to traffic on Friday, as scheduled.
The past months have taken a toll on Pray and other drivers, maneuvering back roads through Juniata County.
"It was wonderful to cross it again!!!" Pray posted on the Port Royal Borough's Facebook page Friday night.
Pray wrote one of nearly two dozen comments that appeared on social media in the hours after the bridge reopened. Many of the comments were positive as motorists were extremely happy to have the Juniata County bridge back in commission.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced around 4:30 p.m. Friday that it had reopened the bridge, spanning the Norfolk Southern Railroad along Route 75 in Port Royal. The news came a few hours early as it was originally scheduled to reopen at 7 p.m.
The news couldn't come soon enough for some motorists who had been anxiously waiting for the bridge to reopen. Motorists were just as excited at the notion that the detours had also been lifted that had been implemented in the spring.
"I drive to Harrisburg Monday through Friday," Pray explained later when interviewed by The Sentinel. "I have been going the back way on (Route) 333 toward Thompsontown. It has added an additional 10 to 15 minutes to my normally 50-minute commute.
"Although the scenery is beautiful, it takes so much longer and the speed limit is also slower," she added. "My commute using the bridge was around 47 miles one way ... going around it was 57 or 59 miles."
Pray was home within an hour on a Friday night even with the limited lanes on routes 22 and 322.
Kathy Fragassi agreed, "Was able to cross the bridge and go straight home after work tonight. It felt great! Thanks to all the construction workers. It looks good. Again, thanks to HRI and PennDOT and others for all your hard work. Lovin' it."
Dot Hosler, of Mifflintown, was so happy to have it back, she "drove over it both ways. Finally got it done."
"Great to hear/see," added Dan Patterson of Bensalem, giving his approval with a thumb's up emoji. "Looks great!"
This project improved ride quality across the structure and enhanced safety for motorists by improving sight distance, said Timothy Nebgen, PennDOT press officer.
"PennDOT thanks the community for the patience it demonstrated during this process," Nebgen explained.
Overall work on this $4 million project involved partial removal of the existing structure, building its replacement, approach paving and drainage improvements. Also included were water and sewer line replacements, sidewalk and guide rail replacement, pavement markings and miscellaneous construction.
Others longed for the bridge's return for other reasons, such as exercise. "Yeppers, I walked it," ML Gutshall said. "Missed that!"