End Of A 3-Year Long Detour In Sight For Montco Residents
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A detour that has impacted thousands of drivers in Montgomery County for about three years is about to come to an end.
The contractor working on the Arcola Road Bridge assures the county it will be finished by the July 5th deadline.
The Arcola Road bridge deteriorated for years before it failed inspection and was shut down in August 2013, irritating Lower Providence residents like Bill Gray.
"The bridge was in really bad shape and everyone knew it, so it should have been in the plans but it never was," said Gray.
Eric Ranieri says the closure cuts his neighborhood off from everything, even a simple a trip to the grocery store.
"It would take less than five minutes, now you have to go down and around, the traffic depending on the time of day, it's not even worth going," said Ranieri
Neighbor Amy agrees, saying, "I either don't go, or I plan an extra half-hour, and I've been doing that for three years because my children go to school in Pottstown, which is west."
The bridge carries about 9,000 cars a day in a residential area. State Representative Mike Vereb says when it re-opens police will be out enforcing the 35 mile-per-hour speed limit.
"We have kids out now, we want to make sure they're safe in their neighborhood," said Vereb.
