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bridgeclose 120A culvert on Route 34 in front of the State Juvenile Residential Center will be closed for just over two months starting Monday.  A box culvert at that location has deteriorated to the point where state engineers have elevated it to the highest priority on the list of bridges to be repaired in next year's building season.

DOT engineer Nicholas J. DeCirce told residents last October that salt damage, normal wear and tear, and just plain old age have contributed to deterioration of concrete and steel in the structure.

DeCirce said that the road would have to be closed for the construction because the culvert is not the kind of structure that would allow for one-lane traffic.  DOT officials say all traffic will be detoured during construction on one of two routes: Route 34B to 90 to 34 for regular traffic, and Route 13 to 281 to Interstate 81 to 20 to 34 for over-width, over- height and "R" permitted vehicles.

The culvert was inspected in 2009 and scheduled to be replaced in the 2012 building season.  But a subsequent inspection alarmed engineers enough that they decided the replacement couldn't wait more than one more winter.  DeCirce said he hoped the project could begin last June but the availability of state funds would determine when the project actually could begin.

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