Historic Philipsburg bridge to be removed starting in 2024

CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — The fate of a historic bridge in Philipsburg has been decided after it shut down in 2019 for safety concerns.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that the Presqueisle Street Bridge will finally be removed starting in 2024. The bridge was a path for residents to go to and from Chester Hill to Philipsburg.

PennDOT Engineering Executive for District 2 Thomas Prestash said they were unable to raise funds to replace the bridge.

“Funding was obviously an important issue. We’ve exhausted all those avenues and unfortunately, we weren’t able to come up with funding, whether it was a pedestrian bridge or a regular bridge,” Prestash said.

Since the 1940s, the Presqueisle Street Bridge has offered residents an easy way to travel but in 2019 the bridge was closed and is now deteriorating.

“One of the factors in the decision we made is that we looked at the surrounding network and we realized there are redundant bridges. Although it does have impacts on the community,” Prestash said. “We thought there was still a viable route that did not impact the community.”

Officials also have to work with other agencies to determine the impact of the flood zone when removing the bridge. The Philipsburg Revitalization Corporation Board Member Teresa Mull believes removing the bridge is a good thing.

“I’m glad to see this bridge being taken out because of the way that it’s been allowed to deteriorate,” Mull said. “It is an eyesore, it gives a terrible kind of message to the community, people coming to town.

While glad about the bridge being removed, Mull added that she’s disheartened the bridge won’t be replaced.

“We are understanding that PennDOT is not going to be replacing it because, of course, obviously any additional way to get to and from our beautiful communities is a good one,” Mull said. “There is some concern about what would happen if that bridge were to be inoperable for whatever reason, an accident or a storm or something like that. So of course, we’d like to see more bridges rather than fewer.”

PennDOT said the bidding to remove the bridge will be open in 2024.

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