Three Carbon County bridges and two in the Tamaqua area are among 85 on a list of aging state-owned spans in the region scheduled for weight restrictions by the state Department of Transportation.

They are among 1,000 bridges in the state to be subjected to the limits.The bridges, in Packer, Kidder and Lower Towamensing townships, Tamaqua and Rush Township, are structurally deficient but "not unsafe," PennDOT secretary Barry Shoch said Thursday at a news conference in Harrisburg.State Route 93, over Quakake Creek in Packer Township, will be restricted to 34 tons, or 40 tons for combination loads. State Route 534, over Swamp Run in Kidder Township, will be limited to 13 tons, or 20 tons for combination loads. And Little Gap Road, over Little Aquashicola Creek in Lower Towamensing Township, will be restricted to 30 tons, or 40 tons for combination loads.Two locally-owned bridges, both spanning Mahoning Creek, one at County Line Road and the other at E. Penn Street, also appear on PennDOT's list. However, no information was available as to possible weight limits.Other bridges due for weight restrictions in the area include Route 209 over the Wabash Creek in Tamaqua, reduced to 28 tons; and Tuscarora Park Road, over Little Schuylkill River in Rush Township, reduced to 36 tons, or 40 tons for combination loads.In Monroe County, bridges include Merwinsburg Road over Pohopoco Creek in Chestnuthill Township, reduced to 11 tons, or 18 tons for combination loads; Sugar Hollow Road, over Sugar Hollow Creek in Chestnuthill Township, reduced to 8 tons or 14 tons for combination loads; Sugar Hollow Road Tributary to Sugar Hollow Creek in Chestnuthill Township, reduced to 35 tons, or 40 tons for combination loads; Mount Eaton Road, over Aquashicola Creek in Ross Township, reduced to 30 tons or 36 tons for combination loads; and Sugar Hollow Road over Sugar Hollow Creek in Chestnuthill Township, reduced to 13 tons, or 22 tons for combination loads.Weight restrictions will also be placed on bridges in the other District 5 counties, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton.The restrictions will begin next week and take place over the next several months. PennDOT will begin posting bridges with weight limits as soon as Aug. 29. Notifications to school-bus operators, emergency-service providers and other local officials have already begun. Posting on local bridges will take place at a later date after PennDOT discusses these changes with local bridge owners.To view the bridges with new or lowered weight restrictions or to learn more about bridge weight restrictions and PennDOT's bridge-inspection program, visit the PennDOT home page at

www.dot.state.pa.us, and click on "bridge information.""PennDOT must take this step because of legislative inaction this past June on transportation funding, leaving the department's future resources in question. Reducing the weight traveling on these bridges will slow down their deterioration and preserve safety while funding for their repairs remains uncertain, PennDOT said in a press release."For months I've been explaining to Pennsylvanians and to lawmakers that there are very real consequences to not enacting a transportation funding plan," Schoch said at the news conference. "Without additional revenues anticipated in the future, I have to make the safe and responsible decision to reduce how much weight is crossing these deteriorating bridges."