Maple Beach Road Bridge To Rebuilt As Part Of $2.1 Million Project
The Maple Beach Road bridge will be reconstructed, with work beginning as soon as the end of the year.
Bristol Borough Council recently voted to award a $2.1 million contract to Loftus Construction for the bridge reconstruction. The entirety of the project is funded by grants from the PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund, Bucks County Open Space Program, the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, community project funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.
Amanda Fuller, an engineer with Gilmore and Associates, said the construction could begin as soon as the end of this year and is anticipated to last through early summer 2023.
“The new bridge will include a single travel lane for limited vehicle access, as well as a 10 foot-wide pedestrian/bicycle lane. The bridge will provide a pedestrian linkage to the nature conservancy area, secured by Heritage Conservancy, and could also provide future trail connections through Maple Beach,” Fuller said.
The new bridge will not be open for the general public to drive over, but it will remain in use for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Due to its deteriorating condition, the current bridge is only open to pedestrians.
The Maple Beach Bridge was constructed over the Otter Creek in 1915, and served as a connection between Bristol Borough and the Maple Beach section of Bristol Township. The neighborhood only includes a few homes after the former Rohm and Haas company began purchasing the neighborhood for their campus in the first part of the 20th century.
“This is a good project, and there’s zero cost to taxpayers. Bikers can go across. We’ll have access to the sewer plant from it, so you don’t have to go around,” Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said.
The borough has wanted the bridge repaired or replaced for years. Currently, the sewer plant and is only accessible by going into Bristol Township and across Dow Chemical property.