Repair work begins on South Buffalo bridge after monthslong closure

Crews began working to repair a 115-year-old bridge in South Buffalo this week after it abruptly closed to vehicle traffic in July.

The bridge, which carries Clinton Road over a set of railroad tracks, has remained blocked off after an inspection called for “critical repairs” to its structure.

The structure is owned by Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad, but South Buffalo is responsible for maintaining its road surface.

It provides one of two ways in and out of the township’s riverside neighborhood of Clinton.

During the closure, Clinton residents have been forced to access their homes via the steep, gravely White Rock Road.

Tom Ciuba, a spokesman for the railroad, said work at the bridge will last until the end of next week.

The repairs involve “timber replacement on a specific span of the bridge,” Ciuba said.

South Buffalo Supervisor Joe Charlton previously said the span was partially rotting.

Work crews from Penn Township-based W.A. Petrakis Contracting Co. appeared at the site.

In the short term, Charlton said, the company is working to bring the bridge back into compliance to allow local traffic to return.

But he said both township and railroad officials have expressed “eagerness” to discuss a potential permanent replacement of the structure, which has proved to be a consistent point of contention among the two for more than a decade.

“I’m glad we’re moving along with the repairs and getting it back open,” Charlton said.

After the railroad concludes its work, the township supervisor said, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission and county inspectors would have to reassess the structure before the township could reopen it.

He said a timeline for that process remains hazy.