A bridge on Ballground Road that has been closed since July due to deteriorated pilings is now accessible to motor vehicle traffic.

A temporary fix to the existing timber bridge was completed this week, but there is still a posted weight limit on the bridge.

“It is open to traffic,” Warren County Board of Supervisors President Richard George said.

The deteriorated pilings have been replaced with concrete at a cost between $35,000 and $40,000; money that is already budgeted as part of the funds for permanently replacing the bridge.

George said the supervisors are scheduled to open bids on the permanent replacement bridge in October.

“That can be deceiving,” George said. “If we’re not successful in that bid letting, we may have to readvertise. Someone could do something real stupid and void the whole thing and we have to start all over again. It has happened. That’s why we decided on the temporary fix. Even though the state tells you all this stuff, you get down to the paying stage, you’ve got to know that money is secure before you let the contract.”

The timber bridge was closed earlier in July after it was determined deteriorating pilings had made the bridge unsafe for traffic.

A permanent bridge, which has been designed and financed, could take 6-8 months to construct, and work will likely begin sometime in November.