Engineer Delivers Update on Bridge Closures

Hellertown Borough Engineer Bryan Smith has been in contact with City of Bethlehem officials regarding the closure of two bridges that are in the city but very close to the borough, he told Borough Council Aug. 15.

Smith, of Barry Isett and Associates, said that replacing with a new structure is currently the option "most desired" by Bethlehem officials.

The High Street Bridge is located at Hellertown's border with Bethlehem and spans an old Norfolk Southern rail line culvert. The east end of the bridge touches the Hellertown boundary line, but the bridge itself is located entirely within Bethlehem city limits.

The city hopes to have the bridge replacement project placed on the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study agenda in the future, according to Smith.

"At this point," Smith said, "the city's not looking to the borough for financial support."

Once funding for the project is in place, any plan to replace the 101-year-old timber bridge that's currently closed to traffic will have to be reviewed and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, he added.

The Seidersville Road bridge, which spans the Saucon Creek several hundred yards to the west of the High Street Bridge, is also located in Bethlehem and .

Smith said Northampton County is "just waiting to have funds allocated" in order to begin repairing that bridge, which is a metal truss bridge constructed in the 1930s.

The High Street Bridge has been closed since June, and the Seidersville Road Bridge was closed to traffic in February.