A $5 vehicle registration fee is expected to generate about $750,000 a year and will help fix or replace Schuylkill County's 62 bridges.

County commissioners are expected to approve the publication of an ordinance authorizing the fee when they meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday.The fee, on nonexempt vehicles registered to addresses located in the county, will be collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.It is allowed under Act 89 of 2013, which established a special fund within the state treasury called Local Use Fund.Since Jan. 1, 2015, counties have been allowed to adopt ordinances to charge $5 for each vehicle registered to an address in that county.The $5 county fee is in addition to the registration fee, and is collected when a vehicle is initially registered, at time of registration renewal, and at time of transfer of registration plate.On Wednesday, county Administrator Gary R. Bender presented information on the need to replace and repair bridges, compiled by county engineer Lisa Mahall."Sixteen of the county's 62 bridges are posted with weight restrictions and in need of repair," Mahall said Monday."Those bridges will be the focus of our liquid fuels program over the next five years," she said.Bender said the money for the projects would not be coming from the county's general fund.The county will use revenue generated by the $5 registration fee, liquid fuels money, and will apply to PennDOT for Road Maintenance and Preservation funds as the funding sources, Mahall said.Bender said the money will also be used to repair one road, University Drive in Schuylkill Haven.The bridgesOf the county's bridges, 22 are in good shape.Another 24 are eligible for funding to be repaired or refurbished, and 15 are eligible for funds for replacement. Of those, three are closed and should be removed."The bridges have been well maintained by Mrs. Mahall over the years," Bender said.Just because a bridge is deemed "structurally deficient" and in need of repair does not mean it is not safe, Mahall and Bender said."All county bridges are inspected biannually and those bridges that are posted for weight restrictions are inspected annually," Mahall said. "The inspections are conducted by an engineering firm contracted by PennDOT."Bridge workOnly two bridges need to be replaced. One is in Port Clinton, and the other is one of the county's two covered bridges, in the village of Rock, Washington Township.The Port Clinton bridge, which spans the Little Schuylkill River, is first on the list. Commissioners in July authorized $80,000 to get started on the $4.5 million project.Commissioners in June approved a $518,970 professional services agreement with Alfred Beseech of Pottsville for engineering design for the project.The other, known as Zimmerman's Bridge, is a 50-foot, one-lane wooden covered bridge built around 1865. It spans Little Swatara Creek, just west of the village of Rock.The bridge in 1978 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Others in need of repair include the Cedar Street bridge spanning the Little Schuylkill River in Tamaqua. The bridge, built in 1937, was refurbished in 1991.Bridge No. 55, crossing Lizard Creek on Ash Circle in West Penn Township, was built in 1930. It has been repaired several times, but now the concrete railing is separating, and its piers need repair.Investing in infrastructureSince 2005, the county has spent a total of $10,688,790 on bridge repair and replacement."There is certainly a need to do that out there," Bender said.Mahall, he said "will look at these other bridges and analyze over the next several years what bridges need to be done, and prioritize as to whether it's a replacement or whether we have to do some decking upgrades or some superstructure upgrades.""The money is going to be well spent. It is important that the commissioners enact this ordinance," he said.The registration fee is a "more equitable way to help fund these bridge projects," said Commissioners' Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. "Especially since vehicles are the ones that need to get across."Commissioner Frank J. Staudenmeier said financing bridge repair is an ongoing challenge."This has been a problem since I have been a commissioner, trying to find the revenue to fix these bridges. The legislators gave us an opportunity here, a revenue stream," he said.Commissioner Gary J. Hess is glad the cost of repairs and replacement won't drain tax revenues."It's not infringing on the general fund, it's not infringing on the property tax," he said.Instead, it's paid by those who "use the vehicles and cross the bridges," Hess said.Improving the bridges makes economic sense."A lot of companies look at our infrastructure before moving here," he said.