Bridge Update: Officials, Engineers Meet, Business Community Reacts

Three days after PennDOT ordered the because of severely rusted girders, Narberth Borough Manager Bill Martin said Monday afternoon no timeline for its repair or replacement has been established.

Martin spoke briefly with Patch before meeting with engineers to discuss the bridge situation.

Pat Dailey, president of the Narberth Business Association and co-owner of the Japanese grocery that sits next to the bridge, said of the closure, "It's something we expected—we just didn't expect it so soon."

The borough had been planning for years to replace the 109-year-old, 109-foot-long, 9-ton-limit bridge, with construction projected in 2013. The bridge was among several in the area that PennDOT deemed earlier this year.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's annual inspection of the bridge on Thursday found that parts of the steel support beams "were completely rusted through," agency spokesman Charlie Metzger said.

The decision to repair or replace is the borough's, but PennDOT will have to inspect and approve whatever span crosses the Amtrak train tracks, Metzger said.

Dailey said he would prefer replacement as soon as possible. Though he doesn't know how far along the planning process is, "if you're going to spend $100,000 to fix it temporarily, that seems like kind of a waste," he said.

Dailey added, "The borough has tried to do, I think, the best they can. We have a really good working relationship with the borough, and when they know something, we'll know something."

With the amount of "destination shops" among Narberth's downtown businesses, Dailey said he wasn't too worried about the bridge closure's effect on their livelihood.

"We generally have walk-in traffic, people who live nearby," Dailey said. "I don't get the sense that people, if they can't cross that bridge, won't come to Narberth anymore."