Manager: Water Street Bridge Will Be Inspected Soon

A bridge that carries a significant volume of traffic between Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township and is will be inspected sooner rather than later, borough manager Cathy Kichline told Hellertown Borough Council members April 2.

, Kichline said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has agreed to inspect the 74-year-old two-lane bridge across the Saucon Creek by the end of April.

PennDOT originally planned to inspect the state-owned bridge before November, but that was before it was briefly submerged by flood waters during the region's inundation by .

Although the bridge is considered sound and its decay has largely been deemed superficial, borough officials have expressed concern about the fact that two bridges just to the north of the Water Street crossing remain closed due to structural issues.

The Seidersville Road metal truss bridge in the City of Bethlehem, and the 102-year-old timber High Street Bridge on the Bethlehem-Hellertown border, have been closed since and , respectively.

The closure of the Water Street Bridge, coupled with , could compromise traffic flow into and out of Hellertown.

Complicating matters further, it was announced last year that the 1925 Lynn Avenue bridge in South Bethlehem--which helps provide access to Water Street via Creek Road--is .

Kichline said that PennDOT called the borough's expressed concerns "reasonable" in its letter affirming that the bridge's reinspection would be fast-tracked.

"So that's good news and we'll keep on top of that," she told council members.