BUTLER TWP — Motorists on Route 422 traveling under the Lions Road bridge probably don't even notice the chips in the concrete span that are causing confusion and anxiety.

Everyone seems to agree the bridge is safe for drivers.

However — prompted by a communication from a PennDOT engineer — officials in Butler and Center townships are worried the state will close the bridge and push traffic to rural roads around it.

Officials from the two neighboring municipalities plan to hold a joint meeting to pass a resolution opposing a closure. The meeting is tentatively set for Sept. 8.

In response to media inquires, the state Department of

Transportation issued a statement that begins, “The Department has no plans to close the bridge ... Butler Township provided us with their feedback, and based on this information, the district has started the process to begin preliminary engineering for the replacement of the bridge.”

The response was written by a PennDOT engineer and relayed to the media by a department spokesman.

Still, Butler Township manager Ed Kirkwood said PennDOT made no such statements to him or any other local officials. Therefore, they are acting on PennDOT's most recent communication, an e-mail sent to Kirkwood on July 31 that states: “we are considering closing this bridge and vacating this property.”

In adjoining Center Township, Supervisor Ken Frenchak said the state has said the bridge is not needed.

“I guess they think people are just using it as a shortcut,” he said.

Frenchak said there are alternative routes that the state said could be used by drivers.

But Frenchak and the other officials disagree.

“I think the bridge needs to be repaired, period,” Frenchak said.

Both the e-mail sent to Kirkwood and the PennDOT communication sent to media note that this discussion began during a recent routine inspection when staff noted collision damage to the bridge.

It appears to have three chips in the bottom over the westbound lane. The largest is about 5 inches high and 18 inches long. There's one slightly larger chip on the eastbound side. The damage appears to have been caused by vehicles traveling under it.

“I am not an engineer, but I can see why they (PennDOT) haven't reduced the (10-ton) weight limit on the bridge,” Kirkwood said. “Structurally it is not deficient.”

The media communication from PennDOT agrees, stating, “The bridge is currently safe to use and does not require any weight restrictions due to the collision damage.”

However, both PennDOT statements say the damage necessitates replacement of the bridge's superstructure. The PennDOT communications say that type of work is not funded now, so officials were considering alternatives, such as closing the bridge, and rerouting traffic to two roads.

One route begins at Duffy Road and another at Benbrook. Both of which would require Butler Township personnel to leave the township and travel through Center Township.

Just the suggestion was enough for Kirkwood, on behalf of Butler Township, to fire off a four-page response to PennDOT. The letter states that the detours would cause large fire trucks to travel winding rural roads and add up to 10 minutes to response times for fire trucks, ambulances and road crews.

Further, travel onto these roads by large equipment could be dangerous in the winter or rain as Lions Road has a posted warning that says it's prone to flooding.

Kirkwood notes that specifically impacted would be 27 homes, one commercial building, two homes that are under construction and 37 lots for sale in the Wyncrest housing development.

Kirkwood said officials expressed these concerns to state Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th and state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st.

Ellis said he received the township's letter as well as a similar complaint from Toby Wehr, chief at Butler Township Fire District No. 3. He said he, in turn, expressed his concerns to officials at PennDOT about a week ago. However, he has not been updated since then as to the status of the project.

Representatives at Hutchinson's office could not be reached for comment.