CLEARFIELD, Pa. (WHTM) — PennDOT announced on Tuesday that the bridge spanning the Norfolk Southern Railroad along Route 75 in Port Royal Borough will not be reopening on Sept. 1 as previously planned.

According to PennDOT, during the construction process, Norfolk Southern Railroad noticed many safety concerns unique to working over a railroad and recommended additional precautions. PennDOT has chosen to implement these measures, which have contributed to the delay in reopening the bridge.

PennDOT has said it acknowledges this causes an inconvenience when it comes to the Juniata County Fair and says it is working with all stakeholders to mitigate the impact of the delay.

During the week of the fair, the department will have flaggers at the Route 35 and 333 intersection, just as it has during events at Port Royal Speedway. It also will be adding more signage to the detour route, which includes changeable message signs to alert fairgoers of disruptions.

The detour around the bridge will remain in place until project completion. The detour uses Route 3002 (Old 22 Road/Main Street), Route 35, and Route 333 before returning to Route 7

Preliminary work on the Port Royal Bridge project started in Sept. 2022 when a two-story building was demolished on Second Street. PennDOT expected demolition of the bridge to begin in early January, but work coordination issues resulted in delays.