Rock Spring Road span in Charlestown to be replaced

Work may start this winter on replacing the CSX Railroad bridge on Rock Spring Road, Charlestown.

Portage County commissioners have approved the construction agreement with CSX, which owns the bridge and is replacing it with a new $3.25 million structure.

County Engineer Michael Marozzi said two other nearby bridges are to be replaced as well, on Knapp Road and a smaller span over a creek on Rock Spring Road north of S.R. 5.

Once the bridges are finished, they will be turned over to the Portage County engineer for maintenance.

Marozzi said the large bridge over the CSX tracks should start shortly. The work will mean closing Rock Spring Road to traffic at S.R. 5.

Marozzi said the railroad has worked with officials at West Branch State Park so that construction does not adversely impact the entrance to the campground which is just south of the bridge.

The construction will entail raising the Rock Spring and Knapp road bridges up to a 23-foot clearance for trains. It will also mean elevating a portion of S.R. 5 at the Rock Spring Road intersection.

The work is part of CSX Railroad’s “National Gateway” project, designed to raise a number of bridges high enough to increase the use of double-stacked container trains to increase efficiency.

The Rock Spring Road bridge between S.R. 5 and the campground entrance has been a problem for years, Marozzi said.

“It’s old and rickety and put together with nuts and bolts,” he said. Marozzi said he’s ordered the CSX-owned span closed at least three times in recent years because the bridge was out of alignment.