State Senator, PennDOT Tour Bucks Roads That Need Work

Two much-needed local bridge projects were a main focus Wednesday as a local state lawmaker and PennDOT officials toured roadways in need of repair in Bucks County.

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero and other local officials urged PennDOT to speed up and streamline the two projects — repairs on the Limekiln Road bridge in Doylestown and repairs to the Edgewood Road bridge in Lower Makefield.

He was joined by state Rep. Wendy Ullman, PennDOT representatives and other local officials on the tour of roadways in his 10th District.

The 10th District includes Bedminster, Buckingham, Doylestown, East Rockhill, Falls, Haycock, Hilltown, Lower Makefield, New Britain, Newtown, Plumstead, Solebury, Upper Makefield and West Rockhill township, as well as Chalfont, Doylestown, Dublin, Morrisville, New Britain, New Hope, Newtown, Perkasie, Sellersville, Silverdale, Telford (Bucks County Portion), Tullytown and Yardley boroughs.

Wednesday's tour tour began at the Limekiln Road bridge in Doylestown and ended at the Falls Township Municipal Building located off Business Rt. 1. Roads and bridges also toured included Rt. 202 in Doylestown and Solebury Townships, Rt. 32 in Yardley, Edgewood Road bridge (near Sandy Run Road) and Big Oak Road in Lower Makefield, North Pennsylvania/Union Street bridge in Morrisville and Rt. 13 in Morrisville and Falls.

At the Limekiln Road bridge stop, Santarsiero was joined by Ullman and representatives from the Doylestown Fire Company to demonstrate to PennDOT the need for moving up the timetable for replacement of the bridge.

"The Limekiln Road bridge has needed to be replaced for quite some time," he said. "We are working with PennDOT on this project because this is a high-traffic bridge and because its ultimately a public health and safety issue for the Doylestown Fire Company. Being able to get fire trucks across this bridge in order to get to people in need when there are emergencies is absolutely critical."

Ullman thanked PennDOT for coming along on the tour and also pushed for the Limekiln Road project to be sped up, as did Doylestown Fire Company Chief Jay Fetterolf.

"Minutes count when there’s an emergency," Fetterolf said. "This is a vital street in our community. Anything that can be done to speed up this process would be greatly appreciated."

Both Santarsiero and Ullman wrote letters of support to PennDOT and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to make the replacement of the bridge a top priority. Santarsiero said that, due to new weight restrictions and the bridge being designated in poor condition, firefighters have to take detoured routes, resulting in slower response times.

Santarsiero also wrote a letter of support to PennDOT on behalf of Lower Makefield Township in calling for the coordination of the replacement of the Edgewood Road Bridge project with the township road realignment work in the same area. The project coordination would ensure the reopening of nearby Sandy Run Road.

"One of the things my office will work with PennDOT and the township on is to move the bridge project up on the list," he said. "We need to stop thinking of the Edgewood Road bridge and Sandy Run Road projects as separate projects. This road tour is about better coordinating our efforts at the state and local level."