Heavy machinery from Diamond Steel Construction Co. in North Lima is positioned across both center lanes on state Route 11 under the Wayne Six Toll Bridge (formerly known as the Newell Bridge), making repairs Friday morning. The bridge continues to be closed to both foot and vehicle traffic as crews work on replacing beams. (Photo by Stephanie Ujhelyi)

NEWELL — Travelers of the Wayne Six (former Newell) Toll Bridge have a little longer wait until it is expected to reopen this weekend.

According to Frank Six of the Newell Bridge and Railway Company, officials were unable to finish the scheduled repairs to the bridge last week –due to waiting on needed materials.

Six explained last week that workers are replacing steel beams that support the vehicle roadway deck. Since the location of these are over top of the highway, the beams are exposed to a lot of salt particles that have become airborne with passing truck traffic underneath on state Route 11.

“The salt brine that is put down on the highway ends up sticking to all of the steel on the bridge that is in the area,” Six said, adding that is accelerating the corrosion and deterioration of the steel structure. “We are replacing the painted beams with galvanized beams to extend the life of the bridge under these conditions.”

Diamond Steel Construction out of North Lima, Ohio, is handling the project.

The company is replacing all of the beams that support the driving deck over the highway during the next four years.

“We are breaking up the project, so the bridge is only close for one week per year instead of closing for a month all at once. The bridge still will be safe to travel on during this period, as we near let it get to the point where it was an issue,” Six added.