Stoney Creek Bridge Reopened, But Construction To Continue Through Fall

Residents and businesses alike expressed a collective sigh of relief as the Stoney Creek Bridge, which was closed for repairs on July 8, reopened to traffic on August 12. The State Highway Administration (SHA) closed the drawbridge to allow workers to perform long-overdue, and sometimes painstaking, maintenance. The bridge serves as a vital artery connecting Riviera Beach and the Fort Smallwood corridor, and during the closure, motorists were forced through a nine-mile detour along already congested Mountain and Solley roads.

According to the SHA, the opening came exactly on schedule, following a five-week closure necessary to repair, clean and paint the 66-year-old drawbridge.

Work on the $1.8 million project included repair and replacement of deteriorated metal, and blast-cleaning and painting the movable structure and machine rooms. During the shutdown period, SHA crews cleaned and painted the entire bridge, including the drawspan, repaired the steel beams and steel supports, repaired the concrete and replaced the fence. Workers also upgraded the drawbridge’s traffic signals to new LED units, which provide better visibility and reliability while reducing energy consumption.

Although the repairs that required closing the bridge have been completed, additional work will continue into the fall. Crews will replace expansion joints and seals in the bridge deck; patch and pave the asphalt bridge approaches; and improve shoulder and sidewalk areas to facilitate pedestrian, bicycle and wheelchair access across the bridge. Work is expected to be done under a single-lane flagging operation during off-peak hours, typically weekdays between 9:00am and 3:00pm and overnight Sundays through Thursdays.

Also, crews will begin cleaning and painting the non-movable bridge spans underneath the bridge, a project that will continue into the fall and not affect vehicle traffic. “When it’s done, you’ll see all the steel under the bridge painted the same bright blue as the drawbridge,” said Bob Rager, district community liaison for the Maryland SHA.

The Stoney Creek Bridge steadily has fallen into disrepair over the years. Originally constructed 1947, it was last majorly repaired in 1986. On average, the bridge carries 18,000 vehicles per day and the drawspan opens 1,000 times per year.

The SHA believed closing the bridge was the only option because access to certain required bridge components was possible only with the drawspan raised. Alternatively, leaving the bridge in the down position would restrict marine traffic with no detour. Summertime was optimal to conduct the repairs, as certain repair materials and processes were temperature- and moisture-sensitive. In addition, logistics would have been further complicated if the bridge were closed during the school year.

SHA officials expect the latest repair work will allow the bridge to operate for 20 years before another round of significant maintenance is required.

The closure wreaked havoc on many local businesses that heavily rely on patrons traveling from the opposite sides of the bridge. During the first few days of closure, Jason Krauch, owner of Pasadena Seafood, said it was too early to tell what the impact would be on his restaurant, which is closer than half a mile to the bridge, although he was encouraged by the large crowd that turned out for the first Wednesday $1 small-crab special after the bridge closed.

However, it quickly became apparent that foot traffic was dropping off dramatically, so much that Krauch even had to lay off some of his staff. Many other businesses generally reported customer traffic dropping by one-third after the bridge closed and had to scramble for novel ways to entice customers to come back, with some offering special discounts, free delivery service or other incentives.

For more information about ongoing improvements and lane closures on the Stoney Creek Bridge, go to www.sha.md.gov.