Lansford Borough has fixed a bridge that for a handful of residents is the only access to their homes. But officials say that they will have to replace it in the not-so-distant future.

Borough workers repaved the top deck of the bridge serving the Edgemont neighborhood, along with Coaldale and Summit Hill workers through the shared services program.The borough-owned bridge had developed a hole in recent months that created concern among residents of the Edgemont section."The bridge is sound, but Lansford has to look at a replacement," Council president Martin Ditsky said.The borough recently obtained the services of a bridge inspector through the borough's engineering firm, Keystone Consulting Engineers.The cost of the engineering work hasn't been finalized. But the borough saved by using the shared services program. They only had to pay for materials, as well as a tree removal firm to clear brush around the bridge so the work could be done.The engineer looked not only at the bridge deck, but at the structures beneath it, Ditsky said. They determined that replacing the deck could extend the life of the bridge by roughly 3-5 years.Ditsky said that the borough will use that time to try to come up with funding for the bridge from grant programs and other sources outside the borough. Ditsky said that while it only serves a small number of residents, the bridge is still public, and the borough is obligated to take care of it."A new bridge could cost $140,000 to $150,000," Ditsky said. "Everybody in the town will be responsible for that bridge."He addressed rumors that the bridge was owned by the coal company. While parts of Edgemont were once owned by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., there's no evidence that its successor, Lehigh Anthracite, owns the bridge."Lansford has maintained it. Citizens say that we don't own the bridge, and why are we maintaining it - to which I say, go after LC&N," Ditsky said.Some Edgemont residents were concerned that the borough wasn't doing more about the bridge earlier this year. Chris Ondrus, who voiced his concerns, said that he was pleased that the borough had taken care of the damaged bridge."Give credit where credit is due," he said.