After being closed for a week, a two-lane bridge on Abington Road reopened Tuesday after being repaired, the North Carolina Department of Transportation said.

The bridge, which extends over Greasy Creek west of West Lenoir Baptist Church, was closed March 20 after a routine inspection found bends in the support beams, which weakened the overall integrity of the bridge, a press release said.

Crews installed new wooden supports at the center of the beams, which will extend the life of the bridge at least three to five years. Because of the repairs, NCDOT was also able to raise the weight limit on the bridge to 24 tons for passenger vehicles and 32 tons for trucks, said David Uchiyama, a communications officer with the NCDOT. Previously, the limit was 15 tons for passenger vehicles and 20 tons for trucks, Uchiyama said.

“Because it’s such a small bridge, we had the materials. We had the people. It’s just a matter of going in and getting it done,” he said. “We know how many folks use this road and that it’s important to the people who live there and drive through it, and we wanted to get it fixed us quickly as possible. We did so in a week, and in the end, it’s a better bridge than it was two weeks ago.”

The bridge was built in 1972 and has wooden support columns, steel beams, a steel floor and an asphalt top. It remains on a list to be replaced in the next two years.