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The Lake Gerar Bridge is unsafe and will be closed as soon as the necessary signs arrive.
Rehoboth Beach Mayor Sam Cooper told the city commissioners that damage to the bridge is more significant than earlier thought.
“Alan Kercher wrote a letter recommending we close the bridge and I don’t think we have a choice,” Cooper said at the Feb. 22 commissioners meeting. Pedestrians and bicycles would still be able to use the walkway adjacent to the bridge, officials said.
Kercher, of Kercher Engineering, Inc., said he discovered continued cracking in the concrete and more exposed reinforced steel when he examined the bridge Feb. 17. Kercher has been periodically inspecting the bridge after noticing significant damage late last year.
An employee conducting soil tests for the foundation of a proposed new bridge told Kercher he saw small pieces of concrete beneath the bridge when the lake was frozen. That prompted Kercher to inspect the bridge again and recommend closing it.
“The city is in the process of ordering the proper signage,” said City Manager Greg Ferrese. He said the bridge will be closed as soon as that signage comes in, which he expects will by March 7. Cooper said he was scheduled to meet with Kercher and a company that provides lighted barricades Feb. 24 to discuss the city’s next steps.
Cooper said the city wants to explore a temporary slab to put on top of the bridge so that it could remain in use until construction begins on a new bridge. “It’s doable at a price but we don’t know what that price it yet,” Cooper said.
Kercher said his company is already creating designs for a new bridge, but he said it’s hard to tell when construction for a new bridge could begin. The city will first have to figure out how to best fund a new bridge and then determine a design.
“I’m hoping in September or October the project could be up for bid,” Kercher said.
Cooper said he couldn’t determine the best way to fund a new bridge until the city has a better idea of designs and costs.
“We believe cars can still go over it,” Kercher said, but he preferred to err on the side of safety, especially because citizens have reported witnessing violations of the bridge’s 3-ton weight restriction.
Rehoboth resident Stan Mills suggested placing detour signs to divert traffic away from the bridge. But officials said signs would reroute all traffic to one street. Without signs, said Commissioner Richard Sargent, “People will figure it out.”
Cooper and the commissioners said they could always decide later to put up additional signs if needed.
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