The saga of the closed and crumbling Randall Avenue bridge continues in Bristol Township.
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Kurt Schroeder, an engineer with Gilmore and Associates and the township engineer, said recently that the township has still been unable to get a special hi-rail truck approved by Amtrak to inspect the underside of the bridge.
“We seemed to find it’s such a logistical challenge because it’s high risk and difficult,” Schroeder said, adding there have also been liability concerns.
However, the township did recently go out and get an on-the-ground look at the span and the pieces of it that are falling onto the ground below, Township Manager Randee Elton said.
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“It continues to be a difficult situation. We saw some things that didn’t seem real great out there,” Schroeder said.
The 169-foot bridge in the Edgely section of the township has been closed since late February after parts of the bridge fell onto the ground and the Amtrak and SEPTA rail lines below.
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The Randall Avenue bridge is owned by the township and it’s maintained and repairs or demolition fall on the municipality. Elton said the Pennsylvania Utility Commission confirmed the township owns the bridge.
The township recently has been in communication with other contractors who have worked on bridges that go over Amtrak lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, officials said.
The township has applied for grants to demolish the bridge and to demolish and rebuild the bridge. So far, the township has not received any of the grants.
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Elton said the cost to demolish the bridge could be $9 million and the cost to demolish and rebuild could be as high as $25 million.
For comparison, the township’s total budget for 2023 was just under $67 million.
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Schroeder cautioned that those numbers are “guesstimates.” He noted a full inspection would give officials a better idea.
Councilmember Patrick Antonello said the taxpayers of Bristol Township shouldn’t be responsible for the cost to repair.
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If work can be done, Amtrak will only allow it to be done from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. on varying days due to the fact the tracks below are used by Amtrak for the busy Northeast Corridor, SEPTA, and freight.
Speaking of the limited window for the work, Schroeder said another challenge is that equipment would have to get on the line at the Amtrak yard in Morrisville Borough. The distance means it will be as long as 20 minutes for equipment to get to the work site, cutting into the time for work.
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Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen said the township will continue looking at options.
The Randall Avenue bridge provides a traffic connection between Route 13 and Radcliffe Street and has been in need of work for some time, but the deterioration that alarmed township officials was observed in winter.
According to PennDOT, the Randall Avenue bridge was built in 1919.
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