Newtown Borough Asks PennDOT To Repair Bridge To Historic Standards

NEWTOWN, PA — The Newtown Borough Council voted on Tuesday to pass a resolution calling on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to repair the Centre Avenue Bridge to historic standards.

The span, which is owned and maintained by PennDOT, sustained damage last month when a car struck one of its stone walls. The impact caused the older stonewall on the south side of the span to buckle in toward the pedestrian walkway.

The resolution requests that PennDOT engage a mason with expertise in historic restoration to complete the necessary repairs to restore and protect the double-arch stone Centre Avenue Bridge, which dates back to 1796 when John Adams was President of the United States and Thomas Jefferson was vice president.

The buckled wall is evident along the pedestrian walkway. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

The Newtown Creek Coalition brought the issue to the attention of Newtown Borough and Newtown Township officials asking that they join the coalition in sending letters to the state transportation agency requesting that any repairs to the historic span meet the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's standards for restoration.

“As it is one of the most historic bridges in the Commonwealth, any repairs by PennDOT must protect that history," the Newtown Creek Coalition wrote in its letter. "This is of particular concern given the controversy some years ago when PennDOT attempted to replace the bridge and when unsuccessful performed a repointing that was not according to historic restoration standards."

In addition to sending a copy of the resolution to PennDOT, they will be reaching out to State Senator Steve Santarsiero, State Rep. Perry Warren, and the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors for additional letters of support.

“PennDOT has made noises like they understand that it’s historic but this is the same agency that wanted to completely dismantle the bridge and replace it with a modern bridge in 2012,” said Councilor Julia Woldorf. “Having the letters sent will be very helpful.”

In 2012, the borough joined forces with the township, the creek coalition, the Newtown Historic Association and The First National Bank to successfully stop PennDOT from replacing the span.

“I’m happy to move forward with a letter and a resolution and we will go from there,” said Council President Emily Heinz. “I just want to make it very clear that this bridge needs to be protected.”

From initial indications, Heinz said on Tuesday that PennDOT appears to be on the same page with the borough. "They will not be using their regular maintenance department (for the repairs) and are in the process of finding a mason to do the work," she said.