Pike County commissioners said on Dec. 3 they will pursue a plan to close a little-used, historically listed bridge to vehicular traffic and convert it to a pedestrian span while engineers prepare designs and funding requests. Commissioners emphasized the county lacks the TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) flexibility to repair low-use bridges when higher-traffic structures need funds.

Commissioner remarks highlighted that the span, built in 1864 and noted in the transcript as listed on a national historic district, carries virtually no regular traffic and that engineers estimate vehicular repairs would cost in the low millions while pedestrian conversion would be less expensive. "We can...repair it as a pedestrian bridge in the range of 1.2 to 1.3 [million]," an unidentified speaker said, and added that TIP money should be directed to bridges that serve hundreds of vehicles a day.

The speaker said the county has directed its planning staff to seek Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding — the federal/state pool commonly used for walking and biking projects — rather than TIP funds reserved for major roadwork. The county pointed to a prior project on Mon Street that took many years to secure TAP funding and additional state matching funds, and cautioned that TAP awards and construction timelines are not immediate.

Residents and commissioners asked about timing and weight-limit decisions after PennDOT reduced the posted carrying capacity. The county representative said PennDOT and county engineers set weight limits and that temporary barricades and a staged pedestrian conversion are planned while a full engineering design is completed and funding is sought.

The county said engineers’ reports are pending; no construction contract or firm timetable was adopted at the meeting. Commissioners also said they would consider transferring ownership to a local township if that jurisdiction preferred to assume responsibility for the historic span.

The next steps are awaiting the engineer’s design and formal TAP funding applications. No final repair vote was taken at the meeting.