BERLIN — The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will begin a project to clean and paint the structural steel beams on several bridges in Worcester County next week.
Beginning Monday, July 31, work will start on both the Route 90 bridge over Worcester Highway in Berlin and the Bishopville Road bridge over the Bishopville Prong in Bishopville. The projects are expected to be complete by mid-August, weather permitting.
At the Route 90 bridge location, cleaning and painting equipment will be staged on the shoulders of the road, requiring single-lane closures during work hours. Portable message signs and automated flagging operations will be in place seven days a week, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Full traffic will be restored at the end of each workday.
At the Bishopville Road bridge over the Bishopville Prong location, drivers can expect single-lane closures Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Motorists will be guided through the work zone with a flagging operation and portable message signs.
These projects are a part of the State Highway Administration’s bridge preservation program and will help to preserve and extend the service life of State Highway Administration bridges. Cleaning and painting the bridges preserves existing steel sections and protects them from corrosion which could cause expensive and time-consuming repairs and bridge closures in the future.