Deteriorating Moreland Avenue Bridge Needs To Be Replaced

HATBORO, PA —With one bridge project coming up next month, another bridge issue came up before the Hatboro Borough Council Monday night.

The Moreland Avenue Bridge is deteriorating and must be replaced, Montgomery County officials said in a presentation during the council's committee meeting.

Tom O'Brien, the county's administrator of roads and bridges, said the span is "structurally defective" and has a rating of 4 with zero being the lowest.

"A replacement is clear," he said. "There's no need to repair or fix it. The goal is not to force its closure and then not replace it. The county would just close the bridge and put up barriers. That;s the reality."

But while the bridge needs to be replaced, county officials said it's difficult right now to pin down a timetable for the work, saying that the project will take at least a year.

During construction, detours would be set up for West Moreland Avenue, Blair Mill Road, East County Line Road, and York Road.

Borough officials worried about the impact it would have on the swimming pool nearby but O'Brien assured them that access to the pool will never be an issue and that there would be some overlap with the bridge work that might impact four parking spots.

"We will not mess up the children's summer," O'Brien said. "We are not interrupting what is planned for the community. We're letting you know the pool will be open."

Borough officials are expected to begin selling pool passes for the upcoming season and wanted to ensure that those plans can continue.

Councilwoman Nicole McMenamin said that pedestrians use the bridge to walk over to the pool, but O'Brien said that won't be an option, adding that even a temporary structure would be too costly.

Although Council Vice President Dave Stockton had a different view.

"I'm more concerned about a bridge falling down than I am about a pool schedule," he said.

O'Brien said the timetable is tricky because he's trying to acquire right-of-way, which could take until the end of April. Next, the utility arrives —in this case Verizon —to deal with equipment and that can take 12-16 weeks before a site visit.

So a true start date will miss this upcoming pool season but will have some impact on the next one, officials said.

"Our main concern was the pool," Council President George Bollendorf said. "We understand the bridge needs to be done."

It was unclear how much the bridge work would cost.

"We're in trouble," O'Brien said. "If we don't move soon, we're going to have to close it."

Meanwhile, on April 1, PennDOT is expected to begin replacing the Warminster Road Bridge over Pennypack Creek, a project that will cause six months of detours, Hatboro officials have been told.