Structural reinforcement work on the Main Street bridge that spans the Lehigh River and connects Slatington and Walnutport is scheduled to get underway on Monday.

PennDOT will be completing structural reinforcement work on the bridge at that time. All work will be done at night.

There will be no traffic redirection, however, during work hours, the bridge will be reduced to one lane with workers flagging traffic through on both sides.

State Rep. Zach Mako posted on his Facebook page Wednesday afternoon that his Slatington office has received “multiple phone calls regarding construction signage near the Main Street bridge that spans the Lehigh River and connects Slatington and Walnutport.

Contacted Friday morning, PennDOT spokesperson Sean Brown explained the scope of the work.

“We will be placing an overlay on the bridge deck that carries Main Street over (the) D & L Canal,” Brown said. “It is a deck overlay to extend the life of the deck.”

Brown added the work should only take two to three days next week.

Walnut Street bridge

Just down from the Main Street bridge, construction of the South Walnut Bridge over Trout Creek in Slatington remains underway.

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, 2025, 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.