What Pa. bridges are in poor condition? See the local list

3,000 Pennsylvania bridges listed in "poor condition"

PROSPECT PARK, Pa. (CBS) -- The Route 420 South/Wanamaker Avenue bridge that closed this week was one of thousands across the state of Pennsylvania listed in "poor" condition, data from the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT shows.

FHWA's database counts 23,202 bridges in Pennsylvania, and lists 3,112 in poor condition. For New Jersey, the FHWA lists 455 bridges as "poor" and for Delaware, 14 are listed as "poor."

Of all the states in the nation, Pennsylvania had the second-highest number of bridges in poor condition, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. Only Iowa had more bridges rated as "poor."

And across the eight Pennsylvania counties in our coverage region — Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia — there are nearly 800 bridges rated as "poor," data from PennDOT shows.

Below is a searchable table listing all bridges rated "poor," their location, the year they were built and whether they are still open. According to the records, 52 bridges are listed as "closed to all traffic." 

The Route 420 bridge, also known as the Wanamaker Avenue bridge, was closed indefinitely Wednesday night after an inspection showed significant beam and pedestal bearing deterioration.

The Route 420 South bridge over Darby Creek was built in 1930. It carries 19,270 vehicles per day, according to PennDOT.

The bridge won't open again until its completely fixed and passes inspections.

According to data from PennDOT, the bridge's condition was rated a "4." Bridges conditions' are rated on a scale of 0 to 9, with 0 for failed/out-of-service bridges and 9 for "excellent condition." 

According to ARTBA, bridges rated a "4" may have "advanced section loss, deterioration, spalling, or scour."

Infrastructure

The state received $1.65 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help repair roads, bridges and mass transit, CBS Philadelphia reported in January.

In October, $1.5 million in funding was announced for rail bridges that serve SEPTA and Amtrak trains in Philadelphia.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.