Nazareth's 110-Year-Old Bridge Waits to be Replaced

The 110-year-old bridge at Route 191/Broad Street near and has been marked for demolition by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

But it won’t come down until – the one connecting Main Street and Uhler Road in Forks Township – is replaced.

“Right now, the [Nazareth] bridge is being used as a detour for the bridge project in Tatamy,” said Don Lerch, a design engineer at McTish, Kunkel and Associates in Allentown. “We may go to bid on the project next year, but we won’t go to construction until 2013.”

Lerch is in charge of the replacement bridge in Nazareth. He said the structure actually won’t be a bridge. Technically, it will be a 20-foot-long arched culvert that will be 8 feet high. Essroc’s covered conveyor system will continue to run between plants during the construction, he said. The project will take about a year to complete.

PennDOT determined the century-old bridge is due to advanced deterioration of the beams, said PennDOT spokesman Ron Young. On a scale of zero to nine, the beams were rated a four, which is categorized as "poor," he said.

The deck was rated as a five, which is considered "fair." There are minor cracks and signs of deterioration in the deck, Young said. And the substructure or foundation, which includes abutments and piers, was rated as a "six."

Considering the superstructure's condition, Nazareth Mayor Fred Daugherty said, “There is no reason to be concerned with crossing the bridge.”

Young said the bridge has more than 15,500 vehicles pass over it daily. The estimated cost to replace the current concrete box beam bridge is $2 million. The cost will be covered entirely by the state, he said.

Daugherty said that in addition to building the culvert, the slope on Broad Street will be graded to lessen the degree of incline. Sidewalks also will be installed, he said.

“It will be nice to have an improved grade on S. Broad Street,” Daugherty said. “The improvements will lessen the difficulties during winter months with the snow and ice.”

Lerch said that once the project starts, traffic will detoured onto Route 248 West toward Bath. From there, traffic will turn right onto Gracedale Avenue and connect to Mauch Chunk Road in Nazareth. Truck traffic will be sent to Route 33.

Daugherty said, “The project will have a huge impact on traffic, not only for commuters but also school traffic.”