DEER CREEK TWP., Pa. - Rehabilitation work that PennDOT says will add decades to the service life of the Georgetown Road bridge over Interstate 79 in Mercer County is scheduled to get underway today.

The bridge is scheduled to be closed until mid-August.

The 336-foot-long concrete spread box beam bridge that spans Interstate 79 is located on Georgetown Road in Deer Creek Township, Mercer County, just south of the intersection with Sheakleyville Road and about one mile north of the intersections with Lake Wilhelm Roa.

Work will include rehabilitation of the bridge deck – patching concrete, repairing spall, filling diaphragms, sealing joints, and adding a new latex concrete surface on the deck. Work will also include updating drainage, guiderail and pavement markings.

A detour will be required during the construction project. The posted detour will use Lake Wilhelm Road, Route 358, Route 19 and Sheakleyville Road.

The contract cost is $593,047, which is to be paid entirely with state funds.

The five-span bridge was built in 1967 and is used by approximately 1,258 vehicles a day, on average.