Plans For $1M Pedestrian Bridge In Newtown Enter Design Phase

NEWTOWN, PA — Plans for a new $1 million pedestrian bridge across the Newtown Creek linking Newtown Township and Newtown Borough are moving from concept to design.

Newtown Borough Councilor Julia Woldorf is reporting that a committee made up of officials from Newtown Township, Newtown Borough and the Newtown Creek Coalition will be reviewing requests for proposals from firms to design the new bridge, which will link the residential neighborhoods of Newtown Borough with Newtown Township’s Sycamore Street corridor.

According to Woldorf, the committee sent out letters of interest to 21 different firms. On the basis of their responses, requests for proposals (RFPs) were sent to 8 firms, which were due back this week.

The new pedestrian bridge will be built over the Newtown Creek, bridging the two municipalities between North Sycamore Street (behind Penn Community Bank) and Frost Lane in Newtown Borough. The bridge will also serve as a “missing link” in the county’s extensive trail network.

The project will be fully funded by a $1 million grant awarded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority to Newtown Township and secured by State Senator Steve Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry Warren.

“The addition of a pedestrian bridge over Newtown Creek will not only bridge two municipalities together, but will improve our local and regional trail connectivity,” said Senator Santarsiero.

“The Newtown Creek Pedestrian Bridge is near and dear to my heart,” added Rep. Warren. “This bridge will connect communities, both physically and metaphorically, as Newtown Borough residents and Newtown Township residents on 'the other side of the creek' will have safe pedestrian access to the Sycamore Street commercial and business district, and all residents will have another recreational area to enjoy. Thank you to the Newtown Creek Coalition for its vision for this project and its effort in moving it toward fruition.”

In addition to the bridge itself, the grant will fund the construction of new pedestrian trails leading up to the bridge on both sides of the creek.

According to Mike Sellers, the president of the Newtown Creek Coalition which proposed the project, the new span will be built next to the stone abutments of a former bridge that once carried trolleys over the creek in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The trolley line was discontinued in 1923. It had once traversed Penn Street and State Street before crossing the creek at Frost Lane and continuing its journey to Doylestown.

The project is designed to provide a safe, recreational connection across Newtown Creek, fill in a missing link in the local and county trail system, and provide additional access to the creek, said Sellers.

“We are just very appreciative that our grant was successful,” said Sellers. “It’s a wonderful testament to the partnership between the borough, the township and the creek coalition working on the project.”

According to Sellers 3,000 applications were submitted statewide for the “no match” grants with 1100 winning approval, not all fully funded.

The grant application was submitted by Newtown Township with the support of Newtown Borough, the Newtown Creek Coalition, Bucks County Government, and a lengthy list of supporting groups and organizations.

“There was a lot of competition and it’s important to recognize our State Rep. Perry Warren and our state Senator Steve Santarsiero who were major advocates on this grant application," said Sellers. "They advocated for us in a big way. And that was extremely important to that process.”