Jul 20, 2025 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

Sean Bernarding said his business, Sugar Run Nursery in Venetia, has pretty much had to shut down during the rebuilding of a bridge that carries traffic over Peters Creek.

“We are at the top of the hill from the bridge,” Bernarding said recently. “Ninety percent of our customer base comes over that bridge, and the bridge is out.”

The Sugar Run Road bridge is on the municipal boundary between Peters and Nottingham townships and connects Venetia Road to Mingo Church Road. The bridge was built in 1939 and carries an average 1,860 vehicles daily. It was posted for a reduced weight limit of 20 tons on May 28 and closed June 16 for work that includes deck replacement and general maintenance. Allison Park Contractors are handling the work to rehabilitate the bridge. The price tag is about $150,000.

“Following an inspection in the spring we identified some repairs that needed to be done to the structure,” explained Robb Dean, state Department of Transportation District 12 assistant district executive for maintenance. “When we got in and opened the deck of the bridge, we ended up doing an extensive deck repair to the extent of replacing the actual entirety of the deck on that structure to maintain traffic.”

Dean said the project is running on schedule, and the bridge is expected to reopen by the end of August.

But Bernarding said not having the bridge open hasn’t been good for business.

“The problem with plant material is that it’s perishable, at least some of it,” he said. “In a garden center, everything has to be pristine and perfect looking. Four months later, it’s not all pristine and perfect looking.”

Jason Cheplic, owner of Cheplic Packing Inc. in Finleyville, said his butcher shop, about a mile from the bridge, also has been affected.

“We get a lot of people from Peters (Township), Canonsburg and people who aren’t familiar with the back roads,” Cheplic said. “They have it marked, but it does hurt a lot. We get a lot of calls from people asking how to get to our place because the next road down, Airport Road. … People have to go all the way around and just kind of give up. It hurts business at this time of year. It’s summer; everybody’s grilling.”

A detour takes motorists onto Route 88 through Finleyville.

“The detour that is posted takes you clear out to Finleyville and all the way out around Route 88 and Mingo Church (Road),” Bernarding said. “That’s like a 14-mile detour.”

Bernarding added that there wasn’t much warning given, adding that he later heard it was an emergency bridge replacement and that was the reason prior warning hadn’t been given.

Dean reiterated that the move was made for safety reasons.

“We immediately scheduled the repairs necessary to keep the bridge open for the remainder of its life. … It is inconvenient, but the contrary would be that we would end up closing the bridge.”