Submitted photo The new 36-inch sanitary sewer line over Yellow Creek had the banks wrapped with large rock to reduce erosion.

POLAND — The former Graffiti Bridge that crosses Yellow Creek from Poland Manor to the southern end of the track at McKinley Middle School is gone as work continues to replace it.

The replacement bridge is still on paper as the Mahoning County Sanitary Engineer’s Office finishes the new sanitary sewer line going over the creek. Poland Village Councilwoman Laurie LaPlante has kept up on the project since it became an urgent fix. She said it began a few weeks ago when large pieces of wood came down Yellow Creek and struck one of the Graffiti Bridge supports.

“The bridge had bowed and one side was down a few inches from where it should have been,” she said. “It came after a big water event three weeks ago.”

The bridge was due to be replaced, along with the sewer line that ran underneath it and the project came up at the April 17 Poland Village Council meeting. The bridge and connector is used by many students as a way to walk to school.

Poland officials were informed the village was going to receive $185,000 for paving the connector and making it handicap accessible from Poland Manor to Poland Middle School’s track and school building. The paving included a stretch from the Poland Library as well.

The problem came from the need for the county to move heavy equipment into the area to remove the old bridge and replace the 24-inch sanitary sewer line with a larger 36-inch line. “We needed a larger capacity line,” LaPlante said. “Every time we had a heavy rain, the manholes would overflow.”

At the April meeting, the concern was about the timing for the bridge replacement because the paving couldn’t be done until the new bridge and sewer line was complete.

“I am concerned,” said Councilman Samuel Moffie in the April meeting. “We have to have the connector paving project done by July of next year or we lose the funding.”

The grant the village was awarded did come with a time limit. The timeframe was unknown until the heavy rains and damage to the bridge made the project a necessity.

LaPlante said three weeks ago, the sanitary line under the bridge began leaking. She said within 24 hours, a sanitary engineer crew showed up and put a temporary flexible piping in place to contain the leak.

“They worked on it all night,” LaPlante said.

Once the leak was stopped, work began on the permanent pipe replacement, which included removing the bridge. The county replaced the line with a new, larger 36-inch pipe using the former bridge supports.

The leak and bending bridge moved the whole project up. Since it caused a leak in the sanitary sewer, the fix was an immediate necessity. A small amount of sewer fluids did enter the creek before the pipe was sealed off.

Since the incident, LaPlante said she has been getting weekly updates and is staying on top of it.

“I was told the county is going to bid the (new bridge) construction on June 30,” she said “The bids will be opened July 25 and awarded in early September.”

She said the intent is to finish the bridge by March of 2026, which could give the village enough time to complete the connector paving in time to meet the grant deadline.

LaPlante said she was told the new one will be a truss bridge. It will be installed alongside the sanitary sewer as opposed to having it underneath. The bridge will be 10 feet wide, which is wider than the original Graffiti Bridge, and will accommodate bicycles, strollers and wheelchairs.

LaPlante said she will continue the weekly updates. She also would like to see the village deal with the wood (from trees) that can get into the creek during heavy storms and cause destruction, such as what happened with the Graffiti Bridge.

“We should be proactive in removing wood,” she said.