Centre Avenue Bridge In Newtown To Close For Repairs In November

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will close the historic Centre Avenue Bridge for two weeks in November to perform restoration work on the span.

The work is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 13 and will include the restoration of the stone wall on the south side of the bridge. The work will result in the closure of Centre Avenue between Sycamore Street and State Street 24/7 until the work is completed around Nov. 27.

The span, which is owned and maintained by PennDOT, sustained damage in August when a car struck the wall on the south side of the bridge. The impact caused the older stonewall to buckle in toward the pedestrian walkway.

The historic twin-arch Centre Avenue Bridge. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Phase two of the project is scheduled in December when the pedestrian walkway will be replaced. Any closures associated with that work will be announced close to the time the work is scheduled.

During the November construction work, traffic will be detoured around the closure using State Street, Washington Avenue and Sycamore Street.

Local access will be maintained. Drivers are advised to allow extra time when traveling near the work area because backups and delays will occur. All scheduled activities are weather-dependent.

The double-arch stone Centre Avenue Bridge dates back to 1796 when John Adams was President of the United States and Thomas Jefferson was vice president.

Fun Fact

Here's a fun fact about the bridge submitted by reader Patty Van Hamel.

The McMaster House and the Centre Avenue Bridge share a foundation. Patty believes that when Bruce Lesser restored the house to its turn-of-the-century appearance, he kept part of the wall visible in the basement as shown in the photo below. The McMaster House was her childhood home.

The stone base of the bridge can be seen inside the house. (Courtesy of Patty Van Hamel)