The Old Mill Road bridge will close for two nights in July while county crews repair expansion joints and replace a worn section of the deck, Cressvale County Public Works announced Thursday.
The closure is scheduled for 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. on July 14 and 15. Work is weather-dependent, and the second night may be held as a backup if crews finish early. The bridge will reopen for daytime traffic.
The marked detour uses the belt road and the east approach into Brackenmill. It is about eight miles and will add an estimated 11 minutes for most drivers, according to the department’s route sheet. Emergency dispatchers and Cressvale County Schools received the closure schedule this week.
A repair, not a replacement
County engineer Ruth Bell described the work as a maintenance repair intended to keep water out of the deck and smooth the transition between the bridge and road surface. The project does not widen the bridge or change its posted load.
The bridge appeared on the county’s seasonal inspection list last June. Public Works patched one approach in the fall and scheduled the joint work after the spring inspection found continued wear but no condition requiring an immediate closure.
Crews will remove damaged material around two joints, place a fast-curing repair mix, and replace a narrow section of deck surface. The nighttime schedule gives the material time to set before the morning reopening.
“This is the kind of work that is disruptive for a short window but prevents a larger closure later,” Bell said at Tuesday’s public-works briefing.
What drivers should expect
Portable message boards are expected to go up the weekend before work starts. Drivers who live between the bridge and the closure points will retain local access from their side, but vehicles will not be able to cross the work zone.
Public Works asked drivers not to move barricades or attempt to follow construction vehicles through the closure. The department said any weather delay will be posted on the same message boards by 4 p.m. on the affected day.
The repair is being completed by the county bridge crew with rented milling equipment. Public Works put the direct material and rental cost at approximately $46,000, paid from the current bridge-maintenance line. No commission vote is required because the work is within the adopted maintenance budget.
Source note
This report is based on the June 18 Public Works closure notice, the department’s detour sheet, the 2025 and 2026 seasonal bridge summaries, and Tuesday’s public-works briefing. The online version clarifies the detour distance as “about eight miles”; the route sheet lists 7.6 miles.