PennDOT's Cultural Resources Management (CRM) Program Website Now has a Bridge Marketing Page

​In late 2019, PennDOT's Cultural Resources Management (CRM) Program website underwent a complete transformation, bringing its design and content in line with other Commonwealth sites. One of the most noticeable changes is to the bridge marketing page, where the public finds information about historic metal trusses available for purchase. The bridges no longer meet vehicular traffic needs but remain valued reminders of Pennsylvania's innovative iron and steel industries. Rather than relegating them to the scrap yard, PennDOT seeks adaptive reuses for these National Register-eligible resources. Forty-three bridges, ranging from the 1876 Cedar Street Bridge in Franklin County to the 1915 Walp Road Bridge in Luzerne County, are featured on the marketing page. The effort aligns with the larger goals of the CRM Program to rehabilitate significant metal trusses in situ that can be brought up to current traffic standards and to identify new uses for those that cannot. PennDOT is working hard to try and save a small part of the Commonwealth's history.

The Mott Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project in Milford Borough and Dingman Township, Pike County is a recent successful example of adaptive reuse. The county-owned 1903 steel pin-connected Pratt thru truss was closed to vehicular traffic in 1988 and to pedestrians in 2011. Transportation Alternatives Program funds were used to rehabilitate the structure in place. PennDOT consulted with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, the National Park Service, Milford Borough, Dingman Township, and local property owners to ensure work would not adversely affect what makes the bridge eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. In 2020, the bridge reopened to provide pedestrian connectivity between historic downtown Milford and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.