Crews began knocking down an old Victorian house on the corner of South Walnut and Main streets in Slatington this week.

The removal of the house and the duplex on the other side of the street is needed to widen South Walnut Street as part of the realignment of the intersection and the project to replace the bridge over Trout Creek. Lehigh County is in charge of the bridge replacement, since the bridge is owned by the county.

Richard Molchany, the director of General Services for Lehigh County, said the second house will be demolished immediately after the first house is removed.

Molchany said work on the bridge project has not yet started.

“The bridge construction project was originally scheduled to be a standalone project. We are delayed due to the inclusion of the intersection realignment,” he said.

About the bridge work not having started, Molchany said: “This isn’t what our county bridge department wanted; however, it was simply a result of the project delay. Funding is secured; the project is starting, and we should see the intersection and bridge construction start in earnest very soon. The project will last about two years to complete.”

Closed to traffic since June 2024, the Walnut Street bridge will remain shut down until it has been replaced.

The Lehigh County engineer said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had inspected the bridge and found structural failures.

The bridge was already slated for replacement as part of the realignment project affecting Main Street and Walnut Street.

The Walnut Street bridge is located between Main Street and Church Street, and goes over Trout Creek and Factory Street in Slatington.

The detour uses Main Street and Church Street, both of which are two-way streets.

The left-hand turn onto Walnut Street from Main Street is also not available for use because the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic.

The project went out to bid on April 10, and Richard E, Pierson Construction Co. Inc. of Pilesgrove, New Jersey, was awarded the contract to be the general contractor, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Work is expected to be completed on July 11, 2028. The estimated cost of the bridge replacement is $9,551,920.25.

The Walnutport Halloween parade was canceled in 2024 because the committee did not have adequate time to get PennDOT permits for the route.