Below are photographs of the Horner Road Bridge in Jones Twp, Elk County
which was inspected on 9/11by the Township Engineer.  Due to the advanced section loss near the bearing of Beam 8, it was recommended that the bridge be closed to traffic since
it is likely the bridge cannot support the minimum 3 tons needed to keep the
bridge open to traffic.  The beam is situated in the cross section to
receive full live load and has the highest dead load.  Loss of 90% of the
web cross section suggests that the beam capacity for shear is not adequate
based on experience and review of the previous analysis. There were other
areas of concern that could not be accessed due to the depth of water.
Similar holes may be found elsewhere.  Also, the tight beam spacing made it
difficult to swing a hammer to knock off the rust pack.  The superstructure
on this bridge is too far gone to explore rehabilitation measures.

The Engineer concluded that the entire bridge needs to be replaced.  The one abutment
is undermined and deteriorating while the other abutment, which looks
satisfactory, has the footing exposed the full length.  Without knowing
anything about the structural integrity of the abutments, the Supervisors not feel comfortable exploring temporary repairs
especially since the bridge would need to be improved to legal loads.