SHA To Close Rt. 28 Bridge Over Monocacy River This Weekend

Crews will be installing steel beams.

 

Frederick, Md (KM) Motorists who regularly use the Maryland 28 bridge over the Monocacy River in Frederick County will need to adjust their route. The State Highway Administration says it will close that span on Saturday, October 13th at 6:00 AM through Monday, October 15th at 5:00 AM.

“The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration is in the process of rehabilitating that bridge,” says SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar.

The agency began work on that $7.5-million project last summer. The bridge was originally constructed in 1931. It’s considered structurally sound, but the bridge deck, or driving surface, has out lived its useful life, and need to be replaced, according to the SHA.

In addition to the closure this weekend, Gischlar says the bridge will also be closed to traffic throughout  much of  the coming week. “Beginning Monday night, October 15th, and continuing until Friday, October 19th, MDOT SHA will continue to detour drivers between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM each day,” he says.

“The detour routes include Maryland 109, which is Old Hundred Road; Urbana Pike, Maryland 355; Maryland 80, Fingerboard Road; and Buckeystown Pike, which is Maryland 85,” says Gischlar.

The closures are needed so that steel beams can be installed on the bridge, SHA says.

The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2019, according to state highway officials.

SHA says more than 9300 vehicles use that stretch of Route 28 each day.

 

 

By Kevin McManus