Weatherly Borough Council has decided to indefinitely close a steel pedestrian bridge which an engineer says is “near partial collapse or failure.”

Council voted 7-0 Tuesday night to restrict access to the bridge, which connects the east and west sides of town, and in recent years was known as “Koehler’s Krossing” in honor of the late borough resident and historian Jack Koehler.

Council says they don’t own the bridge, but following a recent inspection, they still feel the need to restrict access to keep residents safe.

“Looking at the pictures, angles of that bridge I wasn’t able to see before, I think council should make the move to close that bridge. Now that we have that information in front of us, it’s a whole different story,” said Mayor and Council President Tom Connors.

While the bridge’s prognosis is dire, council has still not decided whether it will take down the bridge or attempt to repair it.

Last month council hired an engineer to inspect the bridge and make a report to council. Quad 3 Engineering reported that the pedestrian bridge over the Black Creek was beyond its useful life and beyond repair.

“We are also of the opinion that the bridge should be demolished as soon as possible due to safety concerns for users. we feel the bridge is near partial collapse or total failure,” the engineer wrote.

The report says that opinion was based on several factors: the bridge is 100-plus years old, the truss has rotated, the rivets cannot be modified, members have been damaged by rust, the deck boards are damaged, there is no railing/guard system, and the east abutment is undermined.

Fixing the current bridge would be “astounding,” the engineer wrote.

“Considering the minimal amount of foot traffic on the bridge, it would not be in the best interest of the borough,” the report said.

Council doesn’t know who technically owns the bridge. Connors said he believes it was built so steel plant workers could walk from one side of town to the other. A resident said he was once told by someone inspecting the bridge that it was a “state bridge.”

Council has rejected past requests from residents to work on the bridge and at the time said they didn’t want to assume liability for the bridge. Councilman Joseph Cyburt asked council’s solicitor James Nanovic whether posting the bridge would potentially create that liability for them.

“If we post something saying ‘do not cross this bridge,’ does that mean we’re liable for it? I don’t think so. We’ve just seen a known hazard that no one has claimed,” Nanovic said.

Councilman Harold Farrow lamented the loss of what has become a historical landmark in the borough.

“I’m just saying, I don’t like to see it because it’s part of the history of the town. I’d like to see the borough manager to see if there’s any funding out there,” Farrow said.