Brandywine Road closed for bridge construction through September

by Laura Bednar

Brandywine Road at the entrance to Brandywine Falls closed at the end of April for bridge construction and will remain closed for 150 days.

According to the Summit County Engineer’s website, engineers will rehabilitate the bridge that runs over Brandywine Creek. Construction includes a reinforced concrete deck, new bridge railing, structural steel repairs and minimal roadway work relating to pavement, drainage and a guardrail.

Construction will cost just over $1 million with an additional $220,000 for project development. J.D. Williamson is the contractor. Summit County engineer bridge project manager, Neal Miesle, said the bridge was built in 1970, at the same time I-271 was built in Summit County.

“It needed a major rehabilitation but we felt it was worth saving,” Miesle said, noting that construction workers would reuse existing steel beams. The bridge will be strengthened with fiber wrapping, which are layers of adhesive material added to the piers or supports.

Miesle said based on bridge inspection standards, the bridge deck, over which cars travel, is rated “poor.” According to Summit County Engineer records, 1,640 vehicles use the bridge daily. Miesle said the hope is for the bridge to last another 40-50 years.

During construction, the detour will be at the intersection of Highland and Brandywine roads and go east to Olde 8 Road. It then proceeds to W. Twinsburg Road, which will bring drivers back to Brandywine Road.

Sagamore Hills’ website stated, “Access to the Brandywine Falls parking lot access drive will remain open from the south throughout the duration of the closure.”

Miesle said the parking lots and Inn at Brandywine Falls will remain open, but people must use the detour to access them. ∞