A deteriorating Indiana Township railroad bridge with cracked concrete and water damage is scheduled to close for five weeks for restoration.
The Rural Ridge Tunnel along Little Deer Creek Valley Road is nearly 130 years old and signs of its age are apparent, police Chief Steve Colucci said.
“The repair work is a long time coming for us,” he said. “It’s going to make a big improvement and make it safer for the people driving along that road.”
Work is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Friday, Aug. 9. Illinois-based Sitar Construction will perform the work.
The cost was not made available. The Canadian National Railway, which owns the 100-foot stretch, did not respond to requests for comment.
Colucci said the tunnel has a 10-foot clearance and is a safety nightmare. Along with tractor-trailers routinely getting stuck, the tunnel operates on an antiquated process where drivers have to sound their horn to alert oncoming traffic.
“We’re looking to install traffic lights there,” Colucci said. “We won’t know until the end of the year, but that would be a great help. Plus, there will be extra signs to make truck drivers aware of the clearance.”
An application for the traffic signals is pending PennDOT approval.
Nearly 1,000 motorists drive through the tunnel each day.
Township Manager Dan Anderson thanked the railroad for moving forward with its commitment to the repairs.
“The closure may be a short-term inconvenience but will allow for improved safety and will benefit us all for years to come,” Anderson said.
Detours will be posted. The suggested route is to take Crawford Run Road to Airport Road, around Deer Lakes Park and back.
The structure dates to 1897, when it was opened by the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad. The route helped to connect the iron ore and coal docks at Conneaut, Ohio, on Lake Erie to the Mon Valley steelworks owned by Andrew Carnegie, according to the website pghbridges.com.
Little Deer Creek Valley Road passes through the main line embankment in side-by-side tunnels at Rural Ridge, a section of the township built to house miners.
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, weighed in on the work to be done.
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“Railroad tracks run all across Western Pennsylvania, and railroads have a responsibility to make sure their trains, bridges and crossings don’t risk public safety in our communities,” Deluzio said in a statement. “I found the state of Little Deer Creek tunnel unacceptable and knew we needed to take action. I am proud we were able to partner with local leaders to jointly pressure Canadian National to do the right thing: inspect and plan for necessary safety upgrades to their tunnel.”
B&LE Railroad was purchased in 2004 by the Canadian National Railway. Last year, the state Public Utility Commission ordered the company to coat the ceiling of the concrete tunnel with a polymer seal and repair the concrete cracks and headwall.
Colucci said the large cracks allow water to seep and cause more separation.
“It is fixable and when it’s all done, it will be like new,” Colucci said. “For the inconvenience for a month or so, it will be well worth it.”
Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at tpanizzi@triblive.com.