Blooming Glen Road May Become One-way at Bridge

 

East Rockhill, Pa., June 27, 2007 - The consultants employed by the East Rockhill Board of Supervisors recommend that the section of Blooming Glen Road from Branch Road to Fifth Street be made one-way when Mood's Bridge is reopened.

The consultants, McMahon Associates, recommended the change to make one-way Mood's Bridge safer and to preserve the structure once it is rebuilt as a covered bridge this summer.

McMahon Associates took traffic counts on parallel streets during peak periods in reference to the intersections of Blooming Glen and Fifth Street, Blooming Glen and Branch Road, Fifth Street and Callowhill Road, Fifth Street and Schwenk mill Road and Schwenkrnill and Branch roads. It was found that existing lights could handle the changes in traffic flow.

Township supervisors have been considering this change since PennDOT agreed to rebuild the covered portion of the bridge last year and Bucks County agreed to take ownership of it after construction. The intention has been to calm traffic at the narrow passage to save the bridge from further damage due to oversized vehicle collisions common in the bridge's history.

Other measures to protect the bridge, such as preventing oversized vehicles from crossing are being considered. The measures include the application of fire retardant, appropriate considering arson has been a consistent problem: in 2004, a set fire burned Mood's down to its deck and last month arson damaged Knecht's Covered Bridge in Springfield.

Some residents want the bridge widened to handle two-way traffic. This option was considered by the Board of supervisors and discarded because it was felt that it would allow for even faster traffic in an area where speed is a concern.

PennDOT will begin work on the bridge this summer closing the span for about two months.