Vermillion Hills Footbridge Upgrades Planned In Falls Twp.

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA —The Vermillion Hills footbridge on Vermont Lane may be refurbished in the coming months.

Falls Township Supervisors unanimously authorized advertising the improvement project at its recent meeting.

“This has been going on for a long time,” Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said of the highly anticipated project.

Township engineer Joseph Jones said he plans to open bids on Sept. 20. Jones anticipates construction beginning by year’s end.

A resident built the footbridge years ago in memory of Craig Doster, who had died of cancer.

Last year, Marta Grothman, a Manor Elementary School teacher, approached the township about potentially restoring the bridge and clearing the bushes, trees, and brush, as part of a school project.

Given the footbridge’s proximity to the creek and the possible danger associated with working on a streambank in need of stabilization, Jones said the project would require some engineering work and would be a better fit for improvements under the township’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit.

Keeping the community safe is of the utmost importance.

The footbridge is located near another footbridge that Falls Township had replaced several years ago.

Upgrades to the pedestrian bridge, which is situated by the bottom of Viking Lane, include
refurbishment of the footbridge, including reconstruction of the handrails, stripping, and repainting the bridge and upgrades to the footbridge approach.

In addition, stream bank stabilization and the addition of walking trails and entrance features leading to the stream are also part of the project, according to Jones.

The improvements were expected to get underway earlier this year.

The delay in getting the project started, Jones said, was that he “underestimated the effort it would take for surveying” the half-acre of wooded terrain, multiple stream and ditch cross-sections, and upstream and down of the pedestrian bridge.

The project has been 90 percent designed, Jones said.

The dedication plaque on this historic footbridge will be replaced in conjunction with other
improvements, Jones said.