A bridge in Chapel Hill has deteriorated faster than anticipated and is forcing the closure of a roadway to allow for repairs to take place.

Town officials said the work will force the closure of a portion of a neighborhood road running parallel to Weaver Dairy Road near East Chapel Hill High School. Perry Creek Drive will be closed between Pebble Springs Road and 201 Perry Creek Drive beginning at noon on Tuesday.

“Safety of our residents and visitors is our top concern,” Chapel Hill emergency management coordinator Vencelin Harris said in a release. “We take detours seriously. We are only initiating this inconvenience because we believe it is absolutely necessary.”

The closure is coming after a third-party engineering firm found “the structural integrity of a large drainage culvert where Perry Creek Drive crosses a creek to be compromised,” according to the release.

The biennial bridge inspection found that there had been “accelerated deterioration” since the bridge was found to be in good condition during its 2016 inspection. That result led staff to determine that “the immediate closure of the road was the safest course of action.”

Residents who live north of the closure are being asked to use Silver Creek Trail to access Weaver Dairy Road.

While the closure could last up to six months, according to the town, the “timeline will be more defined once the scope of repairs is determined and the contractors begins the construction.”

Photo via Google Maps

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