Six Bridges In Township 'Structurally Deficient'

Six bridges in South Whitehall, including four owned by the state and two covered bridges owned by Lehigh County, are considered "structurally deficient," which means that one or more of the bridges' major components have deteriorated, according to the state Department of Transportation.

One of the state-owned bridges -- which crosses Cedar Creek on Haines Mill Road -- was closed March 21 to begin repairs. It is currently being reconstructed at a cost of $629,773. The bridge had a sufficiency rating of 36.1 out of 100.

The other three state-owned bridges that are "structurally deficient" are not scheduled for repairs. However, PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown said the tag does not mean the bridges are unsafe for motorists. If they were, he said, PennDOT would have closed them.

"We would not keep a bridge open if we felt it was unsafe," Brown said.

A recently released report by Transportation for America identified Pennsylvania as having the largest number of deficient bridges of any state in the country. More than 25 percent of the bridges in Pennsylvania need significant maintenance, repair or replacement, according to the report.

In addition to the Haines Mill Road bridge, the state-owned bridges in South Whitehall that are structurally deficient are:

* The Route 22 bridge over 28th Street, with a sufficiency rating of 51 out of 100.

* A bridge over Jordan Creek on Mauch Chunk Road, near 18th Street, with a rating of 41.7.

* A bridge over a tributary to Jordan Creek, at Haasadahl and Jordan roads, with a rating of 69.6.

Also in the township, the two covered bridges, which anchor Covered Bridge Park and have weight restrictions, are considered structurally deficient:

* over Jordan Creek, built in 1841, has a rating of 29.5 out of 100.

* over Jordan Creek, built in 1858, has a rating of 19.2.

PennDOT conducts about 19,000 bridge safety inspections each year, and it is responsible for inspecting about 25,000 state-owned highway bridges at least once every two years, according to its website. Those with weight restrictions are inspected once a year. 

PennDOT also oversees the inspection by municipalities and other agencies of about 7,000 locally owned bridges once every two years.

There are 30 bridges in the township.

You can search bridges by zip code on Transportation for America's website.