Jackson Twp. to inspect South Ramona Road bridge for the first time since 2001

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The Jackson Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously at the Aug. 18 meeting to pay $4,335 for Wilson Consulting Group to inspect the South Ramona Road bridge, which hasn’t been inspected since 2001.

The bridge has dealt with more heavy wear since the detour around the Route 501 bridge over Tulpehocken Creek in Myerstown Borough. The detour started on June 23 and is expected to end when the bridge tentatively reopens on Oct. 20.

Read More: PennDOT: Detour for replacement of Rt. 501 bridge over Tulpehocken begins 6/23

The approved detour does not include the South Ramona Road bridge, but large trucks have used the route anyway, engineer Stephen Sherk said. There is now a sign at the intersection of Route 422 and Ramona Road that says tractor-trailers should not use the road.

Sherk said Ramona Road’s bridge is a smaller span bridge and not subject to the routine inspections that other bridges throughout the county receive. He said road crews have noted a few concerns, so it’s time for the township to take a closer look at it.

“It’s been over 20 years since it’s been inspected,” Sherk said. “It’s probably due for an inspection. I know [road foreman] Tim [Hibshman] had noticed some issues with the abutment walls last year, and there was some bowing.”

The $4,335 price tag includes $2,935 for the inspection and an additional $1,400 for analysis. The report will provide the crew’s observations, analysis, and recommendations for any rehabilitation or replacement, Sherk said.

With the work scheduled to start around late August or early September and the report coming back in October, Sherk and supervisor Thomas Houtz said the timeline wasn’t ideal with the detour expected to end on Oct. 20.

However, Sherk said they could get information back from Wilson sooner if there is an emergency that would necessitate immediate township action.

“I think regardless of anything else, you really ought to take a look at this one and see what condition it’s in,” he said.

Houtz also asked if paying for the inspection would mean township funds going toward helping the warehouse that developers want to place at 50 S. Ramona Road. The township denied the development’s application and upheld its decision after an appeal, but representatives are still working through the legal system to challenge the township’s actions.

One of the major concerns of township staff, supervisors, and residents was the damage to the neighboring roadways. Sherk said his review letter said they would need to pay for any required road improvements.

“But, as of right now, that plan’s been rejected, so there is no warehouse at this point,” he said. “Is there potential they would appeal that decision, or that they come back? Yes, but at this point, you have no plan in front of you. Even if you do this, yeah, you might have done some of the work that they would have been otherwise required to do, but now we know exactly what’s going to need to be done for that operation.”

Houtz said the safety aspect of the inspection is more important than the possibility that the warehouse developers would come back, and this inspection would already be done for them.

“We need to make sure we’re taking care of the public today,” he said. “I think the immediate need and safety concern override all of that, so we’re just moving ahead.”

In other business, supervisors approved a plan for a 20,000-square-foot Jubilee Ministries store at 649 E. Lincoln Ave.

The Jackson Township Board of Supervisors will meet next at 60 N. Ramona Road on Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.