This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Yeakels Mill Road Bridge Might be Renovated Instead of Replaced

Bids range from $25,000 to $119,000.

It’s possible that Upper Milford Township can renovate, instead of replace, the Yeakels Mill Road bridge.

Upper Milford Manager Dan DeLong told the supervisors Feb. 3 that he invited six companies to bid on the project. Four responded, submitting bids ranging from $25,000 to $119,000.

There’s a good reason for the wide range in costs anticipated by the four companies, DeLong said. Two companies submitted bids based on rebuilding the entire deck of the bridge while two others would only renovate the outer beams and install new guide rails.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It does seem promising that we can renovate it without replacing it,” DeLong said, adding that he needs more time to evaluate the bids before making a recommendation to the supervisors.

Township officials previously have said the center beams of the bridge, which crosses the Perkiomen Creek, are structurally sound. However, there is corrosion on the two steel beams that support the outer edges of the bridge.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last month the township installed plastic stakes, called delineators, on the bridge. The delineators make the bridge 13 feet wide instead of 17 feet, and keep motorists away from the outer edges of the bridge.

The township also installed a sign for eastbound traffic on the bridge: “STOP. Opposing traffic does not stop.”

Another sign, posted earlier, says the bridge’s weight limit is 10 tons for vehicles and 18 tons for “combinations,” that is, any vehicle towing a trailer.

In other business Feb. 3, the supervisors appointed Kenneth Baumert of Limeport Road to fill one of two Upper Milford vacancies on The Borough of Emmaus-Upper Milford Township Joint Environmental Advisory Council.

The EAC includes four representatives each from Emmaus and Upper Milford, in addition to DeLong and Emmaus Public Works Director Jeff Clapper.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Emmaus