Construction of the South Walnut Bridge over Trout Creek in Slatington continues to progress.

Steve Turoscy, bridge engineer for Lehigh County, said he spoke to the PennDOT bridge inspector on-site in charge at the Walnut Street bridge.

“They’re going pretty much full bore out there right now,” Turoscy said. “Twenty-five percent of the superstructure, the deck and all the things above the abutment and the piers, is 25% demolished.

“And the demolition is scheduled for another five months to completion. And after that, they’re going to start on the actual bridge construction, and they’re going to be attacking that project until it’s completed.”

Railroad Street is closed under the bridge. Heritage Trail is closed from the trailhead west.

In September, crews began knocking down an old Victorian house on the corner of South Walnut and Main streets.

The removal of the house and the duplex on the other side of the street was necessary 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.

A second house was demolished immediately after the first house was removed.

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.