Switzerland County Highway superintendent Edd Cook has announced that Bennington Pike will be completely closed to through traffic and local traffic beginning this Monday, August 7th.
“We have a large slip that has to be dug out and redone in order to maintain the road and keep the road from falling in the creek,” Edd Cook said. “It’s unfortunate because Bennington Pike is a major detour road with the work being done on 129, but we need to get this done before school starts.”
Edd Cook said that local drivers will be able to use Culbertson Road and Fairview Road as detours, and that he expects Bennington Pike to be closed for about 10 days.
The construction of a new bridge over Turtle Creek at Florence is also about to become a reality.
The bridge, which the county has been trying to finalize the replacement of for at least eight years, will be replaced by McAlister Excavating. There is currently no estimate for the length of time that the road will have to be closed while the bridge is being replaced.
“It’s a long awaited project, something we’ve been waiting on the federal okay on for about eight years. People are finally going to see something happen.”
The paving schedule for the county is nearly completed for the summer. Edd Cook says that some minor roads still need to be completed, but most of the other work has been finished.