Nazareth bridge project won't begin until Tatamy bridge work complete

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Replacement of a century-old bridge at Route 191 and Broad Street will not move forward until the bridge over the Bushkill Creek in Tatamy is replaced, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Work on the Bushkill Creek bridge, which connects Tatamy’s Main Street to Forks Township’s Uhler Road, hit a snag recently over a gas line and the failure to reach an easement agreement with a property owner. Work on the Bushkill Creek bridge is slated to be completed by fall 2012.

During construction on the bridge in Tatamy, motorists will be detoured across the 39-foot bridge at Route 191 and Broad Street in Nazareth, said Don Lerch, design engineer at Allentown-based McTish, Kunkel and Associates, whose company is designing the project.

While the $2 million Nazareth bridge project isn’t being delayed as a result of the Tatamy bridge project being delayed, Lerch said construction bids will be accepted later than expected. He is expecting bids to be accepted in June 2012 instead of this year as initially anticipated.

Construction on the Nazareth bridge remains scheduled for March 2013 and would be completed in fall 2013, Lerch said.

“Tatamy is a little more critical. It’s in worse shape,” Lerch said. “We can’t have this (Nazareth bridge) closed while the other bridge is detoured over it. So we'll wait a little longer."

The new Nazareth bridge -- described by Lerch as an arch-shaped culvert -- will measure 20 feet wide and 8 feet high. He said Essroc Cement Co.’s conveyor system, which had been running underneath the bridge, will continue to do so.

Mayor Fred Daugherty said the slope on Broad Street also is expected to be lowered and sidewalks will be added.

The state in 2006 deemed the bridge “structurally deficient,” but PennDOT spokesman Ron Young said the 110-year-old bridge is safe to drive on. He estimated 15,500 vehicles use the bridge daily.
While the state is funding the majority of the project, Young said, PennDOT officials are working with Essroc to negotiate the cement company picking up a portion of the tab.

“When Essroc constructed their conveyor, the department made an agreement with them for their conveyor belt to run under the bridge and part of the agreement included a provision for them to provide funding toward the new bridge,” Young said.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2011/09/construction_bids_on_nazareth.html