A major detour is set to begin on Monday.
 
The Juniata 8th Street Bridge will officially close to traffic. Crews have spent the last two weeks installing signs and message boards to make motorists aware of the detour. Work crews will immediately begin to rehabilitate the three bridge structures that make up the busy roadway.
 
Engineer Shawn Ritchey tells WRTA News that the work will be done on a condensed schedule to get the structure back open before the fall. Ritchey says designers tried to find a way to keep at least one lane of the bridge opened for traffic, but he says that would have caused vehicles to severely back up at traffic lights located on both ends of the bridge. 
 
County officials say the bridge is set to reopen in August just before Altoona School District students return for fall classes.