5 bridges being repaired under county grant
More than $3 million in rehabilitation work on five structurally deficient bridges in Jefferson and Penn townships could begin next year.
The Butler County commissioners on Wednesday, April 22, approved a Multimodal Transportation Fund grant reimbursement agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to fund engineering and construction.
The total grant and cost of the projects is $3,335,200. PennDOT will reimburse the county $2,565,200, and the county will provide a $770,000 match, according to the agreement. The county’s match will come from the $5 fee imposed on vehicle registrations.
Engineering will begin soon, and construction will begin next year at the earliest, Kevin Gray, county bridge department manager, said at the commissioners’ meeting Wednesday.
Three of the bridges are in Jefferson Township, including one on Burtner Road between Saxonburg Road and Route 356. The second is on Great Belt Road between Hannahstown Road and Nursery Lane, and the third is on O’Hara Road between Dinnerbell and Frazier roads.
The two other bridges are in Penn Township. One is on Jones Road between Brownsdale Road and the border of Penn and Middlesex townships, and the second is on Woodland Road between South Dutchtown and Dodds roads.
The bridges were built in the 1980s and ’90s using square concrete beams. When water seeps into a beam during adverse weather, the freezing and thawing causes the beam to expand, Gray said.
The county’s five-person bridge crew will replace the concrete beams with galvanized steel beams and add new concrete decks, extending the life of the bridges 50 more years, he said. The work on all the bridges is expected to be completed in three years.
Commissioners also approved a grant modification request for a $95,804 extension of an Indigent Defense Grant for the public defender office from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The county has received $194,006 in Indigent Defense grants since 2024. The extension extends the grant through June 30.
Chief public defender Charles Nedz said the grant has been effective, and he hopes the program continues to be funded in the future. A grant modification request is required to receive the extension funds, he said.
“There are other PD offices throughout the commonwealth doing the same thing, and it’s proving itself to be a worthwhile investment,” said Commissioner Kim Geyer.
The grant is being used to pay for a part-time public defender, part-time paralegal, case management system and a contract with the Center for Community resources for social service support.
In addition, commissioners approved advertising for bids for a handicapped-accessible paved walking trail that will connect to the existing half-mile Mary McElhinny Nature Path in Ash Stop Park in Forward Township. The township received a $216,000 grant for the project and will have to match the grant.
Commissioners also approved a supplemental $5,000 contract with engineering firm HRG to review electrical plans, assist with a building permit for the mechanical building plans and oversee construction for the SEBCO pool improvement project. Jefferson Township has received over $1 million in grant funds for the project, and a family trust has contributed $150,000. Construction contracts totaling $2.7 million have been awarded. The pool will not open this year because of the project.
