Manasses-Guth Covered Bridge Slated For Repairs

The historic Manasses-Guth Bridge over Jordan Creek in South Whitehall will be getting an overhaul.

Lehigh County plans to replace floor beams and repair crossbeams on the 153-year-old covered bridge, said Glenn Solt, the county's director of general services. He said there also will be some selective stone work done.

Engineering and design work will be done in the next month or so, with construction work to follow next year, Solt said.

The , built in 1858, helps frame South Whitehall's Covered Bridge Park. It is among six bridges in the township that are considered , which means that one or more of the bridges' major components have deteriorated. The bridge has a rating of 19.2 out of 100.  

Solt said the rating does not mean the bridge is unsafe. The bridge is inspected every two years, he said.

The county has $850,000 in state and federal funding for the engineering and repair work, including a grant allocated through the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study, Solt said. "We may get away with less than that," he said.

The bridge has a 4 ton weight limit. Solt said there will always be a weight limit on the bridge, but once the repairs are done, the weight limit may be higher. 

, built in 1841, frames the other side of Covered Bridge Park.

"They're unique," said Solt about the two covered bridges that Lehigh County owns in South Whitehall. "I don't know how you put a value on them. That's what makes a region. These kinds of things."