Officials know that a lot of the bridges owned by Berks County need some repairs and improvements.
Many are old and several are in disrepair. A third of them have been deemed structurally deficient.
Work has already begun to address some of the issues, and more is likely coming down the road.
The county commissioners recently received a state of bridges report, updating them on existing and potential future bridge improvement projects.
The preliminary 2023 Berks County Bridge Inventory Capital Improvement Plan was presented during an operations meeting by Jennifer Payne, an engineering consultant with McCormick Taylor, and Alan Piper, the county’s senior transportation planner.
The plan aims to prioritize potential bridge projects, given that the county has more bridges that need work than it does funding.
Piper explained that while the county wants to address every bridge need as soon as possible, funding constraints require that some projects are deferred while others are completed. This sometimes leads to extended closures of bridges that are structurally deficient but lack funding to address the need.
Here is what the report had to say about Berks’ bridges.
Overview of county-owned bridges
Payne gave the commissioners some basic background on the number of bridges the county owns and provided an update of the condition of those structures.
The county currently owns 54 bridges.
• 25 are 50 years or older.
• 17 are 100 years or older.
• 21 are weight restricted.
• 2 are closed to traffic.
• 4 are covered bridges.
• 4 are steel or wrought iron trusses.
• 2 are stone or masonry arch bridges.
The condition of those bridges varies greatly.
• 18 have been deemed structurally deficient, which means they are safe as posted but in need of costly repairs.
• 13 have been deemed functionally obsolete, which means they are built to standards that are no longer used today. For instance, these bridges have inadequate vertical clearances or fail to adequately serve the current traffic demand.
What has been accomplished
Piper provided the commissioners with a summary of the progress a special team assembled by the county has made in addressing bridge improvement projects over the last 12 years.
That team includes personnel from the planning and facilities departments. It has been tasked with maintaining the county bridges, keeping an inventory of the bridges that need to be improved and getting those improvements done. So far they have completed:
• 11 rehabilitation projects.
• 11 replacement projects.
• 5 permanent elimination projects.
• 16 guiderail improvement projects.
• 7 deck-sealing projects.
Two of the bridges that have been repaired have been turned over to the municipalities in which they are located, ensuring that they take responsibility for future work. Those bridges are Blandon Bridge in Maidencreek Township and Zettlemoyer’s Bridge in Greenwich Township.
And, he added, there are five projects underway:
• The construction of the Ebling Memorial Bridge in Muhlenberg Township has recently been awarded.
• Construction on Peach Street Bridge in Kutztown and Althouse Mill Bridge in Exeter Township is slated to begin this summer.
• Maintenance was performed this spring on Franklin Street Bridge in Shoemakersville and Sunday’s Mill Bridge in North Heidelberg Township.
Piper pointed out that a number of these projects have moved forward thanks to the extra funds generated by the $5 fee that was tacked onto vehicle registrations in the county about five years ago.
The following projects have been completed or are using these funds:
• Ebling Memorial Bridge.
• Pinnacle View Bridge in Albany Township.
• Glendale Bridge in Douglass Township.
Taking a look forward
Piper said the team has identified 10 bridges that should be replaced and eight bridges that should be rehabilitated throughout the county.
The total estimated cost to complete these projects would be about $58 million. He said the money to fund these projects will likely come from various federal, state and county sources.
The recommendation is that the county focus on several initiatives this year:
• Initiate the replacement of Moselem Springs Bridge in Richmond Township.
• Initiate the demolition of Schaeffer’s Ford Bridge in Jefferson and North Heidelberg townships.
• Initiate superstructure replacements for Weidners Mill Bridge in Amity Township and Deyshers Bridge in Colebrookdale Township.
• Pursue funds through PennDOT for the rehabilitation of Wiley’s Bridge in Ontelaunee Township.
• Plan to initiate two bridge projects each year in subsequent years and update the capital plan every two years to reevaluate and prioritize needs.
Future of heritage bridges
Piper said that in the coming months he wants to hear from the commissioners about what path they want to take when it comes to three of the county’s 10 heritage bridges, the term he uses to describe the covered bridges, steel trusses and masonry arch bridges.
“These are bridges that will never be replaced,” he explained.
He told the commissioners that the team recommends removing Schaeffer’s Ford Bridge and Heffner’s Bridge in Greenwich Township. These steel truss bridges were originally constructed more than 115 years ago and serve very few motorists.
Piper said the two bridges are good candidates for a PennDOT program that markets historic bridges that no longer meet vehicular needs for adaptive reuse. These steel truss bridges can be disassembled and moved as needed, thus making it easier to preserve them through relocation.
The future of Schubert’s Bridge in Greenwich Township is also in question.
Piper said the team believes this bridge needs to be demolished and replaced. He explained that its four arches, which were originally constructed in 1900, are in overall poor condition and have no national historical significance.
The commissioners said they are looking forward to learning more about the options available to the county and will have more to say once they have a chance to examine the proposals.
Source: Berkshire mont
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