PennDOT says it’s following the usual road to replacing a hot-topic Butler Township bridge.

But township manager Ed Kirkwood said he won’t feel confident about the situation until he has “something final.”

“We’ve gotten no word from PennDOT that they’ll have funding for this project or move it to a final design phase,” Kirkwood said. “We have nothing final.”

The controversy over Lion’s Road Bridge, which spans Route 422, began in July with an e-mail from a state Department of Transportation engineer. A routine inspection uncovered some collision damage on the bridge that would call for an unbudgeted replacement of the bridge’s superstructure.

The engineer brought up the possibility of closing the bridge and rerouting traffic.

Kirkwood, alarmed by the importance of the bridge, responded to PennDOT with a detailed description of official’s worries that if it is closed, traffic would be pushed onto roads that are prone to flooding, the travel time for emergency responders would increase and the operation costs related to maintenance and snow removal would increase.

Commissioners in Butler Township and supervisors in Center Township followed up the communication by passing a joint resolution in support of the bridge’s replacement.

The resolution requests confirmation from PennDOT’s District 10, “that a firm commitment is made to provide engineering funding and construction of a new bridge ... within the near future.”

Kirkwood also sent out an invitation to local elected officials to visit the bridge, with at least one — Sen. Scott Hutchinson’s, R-21st — making the visit.

“We did make inquiries afterward,” said Hutchinson’s staff member Ray Steffler about the bridge. “We were told by PennDOT that this is a closed case. Unless I hear contrary, we believe the bridge will be replaced. And the opposition voiced by officials in Butler and Center Township is no longer an issue.”

PennDOT and Kirkwood have agreed all along on one matter: The bridge is safe for travelers.

Jim Andrews, district bridge engineer, earlier this week provided the responses to these questions about the bridge:

QUESTION: Is the bridge being replaced for certain/is this final?

ANSWER: “The district has started the process to get a design consultant under agreement to begin the preliminary engineering for the structure. As part of this process, the design team will evaluate options for the replacement of the structure.”

QUESTION: What does the “preliminary engineering phase” mean? How long does it typically take for a project to move from this phase to completion?

ANSWER: “Preliminary engineering is the first step in the design process. Under the preliminary engineering phase, the design team will evaluate different alternatives to access impacts such as right of way needs, environmental constraints, utility relocation impacts and traffic control.

“Depending on the complexity of a project, this phase could take anywhere from a year to several years. For a project of this size, we are working to get through the phase within one year. That is subject to change depending on the results from the alternatives analysis.”

QUESTION: Is this a standard route for bridge replacement planning?

ANSWER: “The project is being developed following the standard process used for all projects.”

QUESTION: How much would this project cost?

ANSWER: “At this time we have not conducted enough of an investigation to develop a good cost estimate. The cost will be dependent upon the impacts found during our alternatives analysis.”

QUESTION: What does “not funded for construction” mean?

ANSWER: “At this time, the district has funded the preliminary design phase. As we progress through this phase and determine the impacts and complexity of the project, additional phases such as final design, right of way, utility relocation and construction phases will be programmed on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP is updated every two years — projects are prioritized based on the amount of funding available.”

QUESTION: How many bridges in Butler County are also somewhere in the replacement process?

ANSWER: “We currently have approximately 33 bridges under design in Butler County, including the Lion’s Road Bridge.”