Carbon County officials aired frustrations about the lack of funding to repair bridges before they deteriorate to the point that the project turns from repair to replacement.

On Thursday, Commissioner Rocky Ahner spoke about the East Penn Street bridge in Lehighton, which is heavily used, especially now that the Hemlock Drive bridge in Mahoning Township has been closed indefinitely.

Ahner sent pictures to reporters, showing deep holes in the bridge decking, some breaking through down to the concrete below, even noting that rebar broke off in one area of the decking and was now sitting in the back of his truck.

He again voiced his frustrations on infrastructure money that was supposed to come to counties to help with bridge repairs, however that funding has yet to be seen.

“We have nothing to fix these bridges,” Ahner said, noting that last year’s bridge report pointed out that piers are deteriorating and the decking is crumbling, but it still is repairable.

Borough work crews swept the bridge Thursday morning, clearing the debris away and allowed county maintenance crews easier access to patch the holes.

At the site Thursday afternoon, the men working on the patches said that it took 20 bags of cold patch to fill the holes.

Ahner said that while the county patched the holes, it isn’t a long-term fix and said funding from the state is needed.

“That bridge could have probably been fixed for maybe $500,000,” Ahner said, adding that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has put bridges on 12-year plans for funding. “(When it is time for that bridge), it’ll be a replacement of $6 to $8 million in a couple of years.”

This road and bridge were closed to traffic last year without the county’s permission to allow for work on the Route 443 widening project to stage.

“When are they going to figure out that when you build the road, you have got to have something to get to there,” Ahner said, pointing out that the Hemlock Drive bridge closure now forces more people onto detours, creating more wear and tear on other roads.

The board all questioned PennDOT’s procedures and thinking with how bridge work is completed.

Several bridges were brought up, including one on Pohopoco Drive, one in Packer Township and one in the Penn Forest area that is finally being worked on.

“We’re going to need hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix all our bridges,” Ahner said. “And if it’s on a 12-year plan, God bless our county. I have no idea where we’re going to get $100 million to fix all this stuff when it came down from the top. This came down from federal government and they handed it over to PennDOT ... and it was supposed to go to local municipalities and it’s not.”

This problem isn’t just in Carbon County. Ahner said that no matter where you go, bridge dilapidation is occurring all throughout the state without the funding that was promised to counties to fix them.

“What are all these communities going to be? We’re going to have a brand-new bridge up on Route 80 and we’re going to have a brand-new Route 443 and where are you going to? A detour. That’s where you’re going, to another detour,” Ahner said.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said that counties are working together to try to get a meeting with the district’s elected officials to discuss the problems about lack of funding and over regulations, however trying to get everyone in one place has proved difficult.

Commissioners’ Chairman Michael Sofranko said that while it still amazes him that the county owns 19 bridges, but doesn’t own the roads leading up to them, he thinks that the state should go back to looking at bundling projects to try to get them completed in a more timely manner. For example, if a bridge in Carbon is in need of repair and there are two other bridges in neighboring counties that could use the same types of repair, bundle them together for one bid instead of three.

“They need to get their heads together and get the money to the taxpayer,” Sofranko said.