South Buffalo bridge to remain closed for months, potential replacement to follow

Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad officials told South Buffalo residents that a wooden bridge that provides one of two access points to the township’s Clinton neighborhood will likely remain closed at least until October.

That’s after crews abruptly closed the 115-year-old bridge, which carries Clinton Road over railroad tracks, with large concrete barriers on each side after a recent inspection called for “critical repairs” to the bridge’s structure.

South Buffalo Supervisor Joe Charlton said the bridge was partially rotting.

Charlton said the bridge has been a point of dispute between the township and the railroad for at least a decade. That’s because the railroad owns the bridge’s structure, but South Buffalo is responsible for maintaining its road surface.

In a meeting Thursday, officials from both the railroad and township appeared before dozens of South Buffalo residents to field questions about the future of the bridge.

Though Charlton said residents were right to be frustrated by the closure, he said the meeting was “productive” from an information standpoint.

He said railroad officials have ordered the materials to repair the bridge, which they expect to receive by October.

Once the structure is mended, Charlton said, supervisors are hoping to work with the railroad to replace the span entirely. He said this was to avoid further cycles of repairs in the future.

The recent collaboration between the company and the town, he said, is a “good sign” that a replacement bridge could be possible in the coming months.

Buffalo & Pittsburgh spokesman Tom Ciuba said the railroad has secured a contractor to repair the bridge once materials arrive.

The company, he said, would make “every effort” to complete the work by the end of October.

After that, Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission would have to perform safety inspections before vehicles could return to the span.

In the meantime, the only access to the riverside village of Clinton will be via the steep and gravelly White Rock Road.

That has Clinton resident Phillip Tompkins concerned.

A longtime advocate for bridge repairs, Tompkins said he worried about delays due to winter weather and holidays once work crews acquire the materials. He foresees the process lasting into the new year.

Still, he said, he supports the supervisors’ efforts and thinks they’re moving in the right direction for the village.

Tompkins hopes that support from the state or federal level would bring a faster conclusion to the bridge saga.