Construction began Feb. 22 on a project to rehabilitate Brower's Bridge, a historic 117-year-old bridge carrying Mansion Road over the south branch of French Creek in Warwick and East Nantmeal townships, Chester County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

Due to the nature of construction, Mansion Road is closed and vehicle traffic detoured 24/7 between Reading Furnace Road/James Mill Road and PA Route 401 (Conestoga Road). PennDOT said the rehab work is scheduled to be completed in late May, at which time the road and bridge will reopen.

During the closure, Mansion Road motorists will be directed to use Route 401 (Conestoga Road), Route 345 (Bulltown Road), Route 23 (Ridge Road), Morningside Road and Reading Furnace Road. Local access will be maintained up to the construction zone.

J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen, Pa., is the general contractor on this bridge improvement project that is financed with 100 percent state funds. Work on the entire project is expected to be completed in early fall 2021.

During rehabilitation of the 25-ft.-long and 15-ft.-wide single-span stone arch bridge, PennDOT's contractor, will conserve the original plaque and brick frame on the structure, which is listed with the National Register of Historic Places and part of the Reading Furnace Historic District. Other improvements to the bridge include masonry cleaning, repointing, scour protection and milling and paving of the roadway.

Brower's Bridge (Mansion Road Bridge) is one of five structures in Chester, Montgomery and Delaware counties that PennDOT is repairing under a $4,948,703 project.

Two of the five have already been completed — the Kaolin Road Bridge over the west branch of Red Clay Creek in Kennett Township, Chester County, and the Concord Road span across Green Creek in Concord Township, Delaware County.

The other structures currently undergoing work that are part of this bridge replacement/rehabilitation project include:

• The Route 63 (Red Lion Road) bridge over Huntingdon Valley Creek in Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, and
• Route 320 (Trinity Lane) over Gulph Mills Creek in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County. Built in 1789, the Trinity Lane Bridge also is listed with the National Register of Historic Places and noted as the fifth oldest bridge in the Unites States of America.

For a complete list of construction projects impacting state-owned highways in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, visit www.penndot.gov/District6TrafficBulletin.

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