PennDOT has released a report on the conditions of state-owned and local bridges across the commonwealth. It shows improvement, but a lot of work still to do.
Since the start of a major bridge campaign in 2015, there are 819 more bridges listed in good condition and more than a thousand fewer bridges listed as being in poor condition. Statewide, the number of locally-owned bridges in poor condition have fallen from 34 to 30 percent.
In Indiana County, there are 505 state-owned bridges. 112 are listed in poor condition. All but nine of them are open with no restrictions. The nine are open with load restrictions. None are closed. 217 other state-owned bridges in Indiana County are listed in fair condition. 98 are in good condition.
There are 78 locally-owed bridges in Indiana County. Twenty-two are listed in good condition, 46 in fair condition, and ten in poor condition. Three of them are closed…on Grace Church Road in Cherryhill Township, Chestnut Street in East Wheatfield Township, and North Loop Road in West Mahoning Township. The Long Road Bridge in Center Township is listed as being open with the use of a temporary structure.
There are 25,000 state-owned bridges in Pennsylvania. PennDOT also oversees the inspection of Pennsylvania’s 6,500 locally-owned bridges. State law requires that each bridge be inspected every two years, so some that are listed in poor condition may have been repaired or replaced since last being inspected.
