LAYTON, Pa. — Work on the historic Layton Bridge is common. It’s more than 130 years old and it needs repair work often.
But neighbors and local businesses hate it.
“Every time the bridge closes, I always lose business,” said Mike Bise, owner of Bise’s Garage on the Layton side of the Youghiogheny River. “Probably 30%, I probably lose of business when it’s closed.”
The bridge provides a quick connection between Perryopolis and Layton. Without it – the detour can add 30 minutes to commutes. The trip to the other side of the bridge is 16 miles.
“It’s long. Yep,” Bise noted.
PennDOT started work on the Layton Bridge in June. Crews need to repair rusted steel, concrete on the deck, and more to make it safe. PennDOT said this bridge has unique parts – and that getting the parts takes time.
“When you need a piece to fix this bridge you don’t buy that at a local store, you have to design and fabricate the piece,” said Bill Beaumariage, assistant district executive for construction with PennDOT.
PennDOT plans to build a new bridge, but that’s years away. They have to do environmental studies, then acquire the land and design the bridge.
“I would hope that we can be in construction in 2027, and constructing that in 2027-2028,” Beaumariage said.
Bise thinks the new bridge needs to come soon, saying they can’t just keep patching up the old bridge.
“We just need a new bridge, that’s for sure,” Bise said. “If there’s a fire on the hill, imagine if someone’s house is catching on fire. It could be someone else’s life in danger. Someone’s going to die because of neglect and postponing, whatever they’re going to call it.”
The current Layton Bridge should be reopened by the end of October. PennDOT says intermittent closures for repairs are possible yearly until the new bridge is built.
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