The busy Stoney Creek Bridge in northern Pasadena reopened to traffic Monday morning after being closed for five weeks as part of a repair project.
The bridge, which carries Fort Smallwood Road over Stoney Creek, is "a nicely painted and repaired bridge," said Charlie Gischlar, a spokesman for the State Highway Administration.
The 66-year-old drawbridge was in desperate need of repairs, highway officials said, and the only way to do the work was to completely shut it down to traffic. The only detour during the project took drivers 10 miles out of their way. The state provided a shuttle for pedestrians and bikers, while a local grocery store offered delivery service for customers who lived across the bridge.
Crews from Astron General Contracting of Jacksonville, N.C., repaired and replaced deteriorated metal and cleaned and painted movable parts of the bridge and in the machine room.
While repairs that necessitated the bridge closure are complete, work continues on the $1.8 million project. Crews still need to replace expansion joints and seals in the bridge deck, repave the bridge approaches and improve wheelchair access on the sidewalks. During off hours, the work will be done during single-lane operations.
The drawbridge handless 18,000 cars per day and 1,000 openings per year for boats. Both sides of the bridge are populated with neighborhoods and businesses. Many drivers use Fort Smallwood Road and the Stoney Creek Bridge to reach the Baltimore area and the Baltimore Beltway from Pasadena.