Bridge Closure Discussed

The recent closure of Bethlehem's Seidersville Road truss bridge across the Saucon Creek "came as a surprise," Lower Saucon Township Manager Jack Cahalan told township council members Wednesday night.

Cahalan said the township received a letter from Northampton County informing it of the closure, and said the bridge was closed to traffic "after an inspection."

Although the historic truss bridge is located entirely within Bethlehem city limits, it is a popular east-west conduit used by many residents of both Hellertown and Lower Saucon.

For Hellertown motorists traveling west on High Street (which becomes Seidersville Road), the bridge is the second that must be crossed in order to reach Creek Road, a north-south thoroughfare along the west bank of the Saucon Creek.

The first bridge is also an historic crossing that has recently been a subject of concern. 

The West High Street bridge is a one-lane bridge with a wooden floor that spans a narrow culvert at the Hellertown-Bethlehem border.

Westbound traffic from Hellertown must now turn north onto Ravena Street after crossing the one-lane bridge, due to the closure of the Seidersville Road bridge between Ravena and Creek Road.

"(The closure) will continue indefinitely, so it must be something serious," Cahalan told township council members at their meeting.

In other road closure-related business, council Vice President Tom Maxfield asked about the ongoing closure of Ringhoffer Road, near the border between Lower Saucon and the City of Bethlehem.

Cahalan said that according to his most recent update from the City of Bethlehem, the road remains closed because a guide rail still need to be installed along it. 

"Maybe we can urge them to open it ASAP," Maxfield said. "It's very inconvenient."

Ringhoffer Road is an important north-south connector road between Applebutter and Easton roads in Lower Saucon.