Radnor Historic Bridges Win Awards

RADNOR, PA— When you’re driving along Bryn Mawr Avenue in Radnor you may not notice the three small brick and concrete arch bridges near the Sacred Heart Academy.

That's because they blend in nicely with the environment and are on the same level as the roadway.

But these bridges are special - they were built 117 years ago and one of them is in the National Register of Historic Places.

The bridges carry 10,515 vehicle a daily, according to PennDOT.

The work on the bridges was part of a $7.7 millionproject to restore seven bridges in the Philadelphia area.

Preservation Pennsylvania took notice of the 1905 bridges' rehabilitation and awarded PennDOT two Ralph Modesku Award for Excellence in Transportation, Design, Perseverance and Archaeology.

The award was also presented to contractors, TranSystems and Loftus Construction, Cinnaminson, N.J.

"PennDOT is committed to preserving our historical bridges and we are honored to receive these distinguished awards," said Lou Belmonte, PennDOT District 6 Executive.
"These bridges help preserve architectural history and serve as a sense of pride and heritage for the communities."

The project involved rehabilitating three bridges that carry Bryn Mawr Avenue over Meadowbrook Run, a tributary to Meadowbrook Run, and Doom Run.

The concrete steel beam bridge with decorative arched brick parapets over Meadowbrook Run is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

"This project successfully preserved a collection of historic bridges," said Monica Harrower, PennDOT District 6 architectural historian.

"All three bridges had deteriorated significantly and were in poor condition, requiring rehabilitation to extend their service life."

The awards were presented Tuesday at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, West Chester.