September 19th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

As a result of significant deterioration, a popular pedestrian bridge that serves as an entry point to Bel Air Elementary School for a segment of that community has been shutdown.  Facilities Director Vince Montana told the Allegany County Board of Education this week that he has been working to secure funding to construct a new bridge for several years. A State Highway Administration grant to cover some of the cost was received- however that mandates using state specs that call for the building of a bridge that could accommodate truck traffic. That would lead to a far greater and more expensive project than necessary for Bel Air School. At this point, Montana said the preferred option would be to return the grant and just have the board pick up the cost for a new pedestrian bridge at an estimated price tag of around $200,000- as opposed to the state plan would could have hit $600,000…