Lower State Road Bridge to Close Monday

The Lower State Road bridge will be closed starting Monday, Jan. 9, according to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Both northbound and southbound lanes of Lower State Road will be closed and detoured between Bristol Road and Tamened Avenue, according to the release.

The project was scheduled to finish in August 2012, according to the release, but the completion date was pushed back to June 2013 due to utility and construction delays because of the Route 202 Parkway project. The total closure of the Lower State Road will enable the bridge to reopen in December 2012, if all goes as expected.

"We decided that it would be better to close Lower State Road to expedite the completion of the new bridge," PennDot District Executive Lester C. Toaso said. "The project was delayed by utility relocation issues and Lower State Road being used as a detour for a section of the Route 202 Parkway project."

While the construction continues, Lower State Road traffic will be detoured over Bristol Road, Route 202 (Butler Pike) and Tamened Avenue. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone, according to the department of transportation.

PennDOT must only detour traffic from state roads onto other state roads by law, according to the department of transportation, but drivers can use local roads at their discretion. The department suggests allowing extra travel time through the area.