Lehigh County Board of Commissioners heard a report Feb. 9 about Lehigh County’s bridges from Richard Molchany, director of general services. Molchany’s introduction of the subject got the commissioners focused on upcoming budget issues.

“In Lehigh County, we have some bridges that are functionally obsolete,” Molchany said.

He was referring to the county’s covered bridges.

“If we were going to build a new bridge, we would never build a covered bridge. But, as a tourist attraction, our Lehigh County Covered Bridge Tour is wildly popular, according to Discover Lehigh Valley. So, we keep and maintain these bridges.

“But because they are functionally obsolete, we are limited on how much money the government will give us to maintain a functionally obsolete bridge,” he added. “We make grant requests (for those bridges).”

He noted the Geiger Covered Bridge at the Trexler Nature Preserve on Old Packhouse Road in North Whitehall Township is closed for construction. It is a 112-foot-long bridge across Jordan Creek constructed in 1860. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

“We received a $400,000 grant, and we’re working on that bridge right now to bring that bridge up to what we consider functionally obsolete standards,” Molchany said. “It will be passable with a three-ton limit.”

Molchany urged commissioners to review the status of Lehigh County bridges as they develop the five-year capital plan.

“Last year at this time, we were discussing placing about $19 million into a capital plan,” Molchany said. “Keep in mind, capital plans do not equal budgets.”

“Two years ago, some of my colleagues suggested, ‘let the municipalities take ownership of the bridges,’ It was a contentious subject, which baffled me at the time because it was the county’s responsibility,” Geoff Brace, commissioner president, said. “Why would we try and pass this onto the municipalities? I will urge my colleagues with regard to discussion of bridges to avoid that reaction. These are our responsibilities.”

He added they will end up with delayed construction projects and unfixed bridges if they pass the responsibility to the municipalities.

Commissioner Dave Harrington noted there has been an increase in extreme weather such as flooding.

“You are reading about ‘should we toll bridges’ and ‘should we increase registration rates,’” Molchany said. “To get that $12 billion for roads and bridges, we need to contribute our share, which is roughly 20 percent.

“It is certainly a challenge because we have so many bridges and so many of them that are, unfortunately, old. They require significant upkeep,” Molchany added.

“Have we seen an increase in the wear and tear on our bridges because of that?” asked Harrington.

“Absolutely,” said Molchany.