Blair County residents raise concerns over potential bridge closing

BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A bridge in Freedom Township will soon be either replaced or removed after the county determined it’s beyond repair.

Bridge 73, nicknamed the Jugtown Bridge, which goes into Beaver Dam Creek, is in poor condition, according to PennDOT’s website.

And a possible closure is leaving nearby residents with concerns.

At a recent public meeting, the county and an engineering firm gave two possible solutions — build a new two-lane bridge, or remove the bridge and put a cul-de-sac at the end of the road.

Presentations from the meeting show the cul-de-sac would cost about $37,000 for the county, while the new bridge would cost about $170,000.

Residents say they heavily prefer a new bridge and say the cul-de-sac would create problems.

There’s only one other way out of the neighborhood, and it’s over a mile-and-a-half drive in the other direction.

It takes about 8 minutes — in good driving conditions and if you’re going the speed limit.

Concerned residents say it sounds just like a small inconvenience on paper, but Mountain Road, the road people would have to drive on, is where the problems come in.

“As the name implies, it runs along a side of a mountain,” concerned resident Brian Haney said. “There’s times in the winter when trees have fallen on it, this past winter it was closed three different times.”

Haney is concerned that emergency services would have a tough time getting in and out of the neighborhood if there was no bridge.

“We have some elderly people in the neighborhood, that could be a concern,” Haney said. “And even if there would be a fire or something, to get the fire trucks in.”

And when every second matters, concerned resident Deb Miller says the bridge could save someone’s life.

“It could mean a couple of minutes difference in time,” Miller said. “It’s two miles out there versus them coming right across to save somebody.”

Plus, Miller said it’s just not fun to drive on.

“There’s no markings. There’s no lighting,” Miller said. “There’s blind driveways and blind hills. It’s very icy in the winter. We all avoid it.”

At the public meeting, Haney and Miller said they’re reached out to county commissioners.

Commissioner Amy Webster replied to an email Miller sent to her. She told Miller that they’re still talking to residents and weighing their options.

Haney said, however, that reply left him confused.

“I haven’t talked to any of them,” Haney said. “Right now, we have zero feedback other than, ‘We haven’t decided yet.’”

WTAJ has reached out to the commissioners, but they’re off for their Thanksgiving break. We’ll keep you updated as we wait for a response.