Bristol Township Council approved a $2.75 million bid as part of ongoing repairs to the closed Randall Avenue bridge over the Northeast Corridor rail line.
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The council voted to approve the bid from Loftus Construction for Phase 2 of the Randall Avenue Bridge repair project. The next phase of the work will address long-standing structural issues and potentially allow for the bridge’s reopening in 2025.
Township Engineer Kurt Schroeder outlined the scope of work that covers repairing eroded concrete abutments, replacing corroded bearings, and installing new bridge joints.
“The abutments or concrete abutments that have eroded over the years … that’s going to receive a fiber wrap to restore that,” Schroeder explained. “The bearings that hold up the beams are very corroded. So they’re going to put up temporary shoring.”
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The project will also involve replacing the joints on the top side of the bridge and addressing related barrier issues.
Schroeder said there was optimism about the potential to reopen the bridge once work is completed, but it would likely be with weight restrictions.
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“Our engineers are very optimistic about the ability to certainly reopen it at the existing 3 1/2 ton weight restriction,” he said. “But we are going to seek to try to see if that can be increased.”
PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will have to inspect the bridge before it reopens.
“We’ve already discussed it with the police department, knowing that we will have our police personnel make sure that they are watching this bridge,” Mazur said of the weight restrictions.
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Schroeder stated that while the initial weight limit may not accommodate all emergency vehicles, the township is working towards that goal.
Township Manager Randee Mazur noted that while the project’s $2.75 million cost exceeds available grant funding, the township has a plan to cover the shortfall.
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“Our grant was $2 million. We did have a $975,000 grant from the first multimodal grant,” Mazur said. “We spent a little bit over a million with Hanes and Kibble House for phase one. So we’re going to have to supplement from the general fund or from the capital fund, like $300,000.”
Councilmember Patrick Antonello asked about the fiber wrap material being used to repair the abutments.
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Schroeder assured her that the resin-based material is “very strong, very durable” and will be used in conjunction with concrete and rebar repairs.
“Any spalled concrete gets removed and then it gets filled with this,” Schroeder said. “There’s number eight rebar spec, you know, 10, 1 inch.”
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The structure has been closed since February 2023 due to safety concerns, including concrete falling onto the train tracks below.
Schroeder noted that this phase of the project is expected to require less coordination with Amtrak, as much of the work will be done from the top side of the bridge. The first phase took months due to safety planning involving Amtrak, SEPTA, and freight carriers.
While the current repairs will address immediate problems, township officials have stated that they are still pursuing funding for a complete bridge replacement in the future.
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