Ceremonial Ribbon Cutting Opens Koppel Bridge Up To The Public Again

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

After several weeks of detouring citizens, hard construction labor, and millions of dollars spent, the Koppel Bridge was officially and ceremoniously opened back up to the public on Wednesday afternoon (October 23).

The new bridge, shown to the right of where the old bridge stood, fixes the issue of a downward curve that often flooded.

The bridge is part of Pennsylvania Route 351 that connects Koppel Borough with North Sewickley Township and all the way into Ellwood City. The old bridge was shut down officially in August due to travel concerns, forcing motorists to travel either through Wampum or Eastvale to cross the Beaver River.

Koppel Police Chief Matt Smock (in car) takes the first official drive over the new bridge.

Several local residents and dignitaries, including mayor Tom Vannoy, helped cut the ribbon that made Route 351 a complete route again. Koppel Police Chief Matthew Smock had the honors of driving his unit van across the bridge before anyone else, and he told Beaver County Radio that the bridge being back open is good news for his unit and neighboring police units:

The bridge was built by Brayman Construction in conjunction with PennDot.