Union County commissioners approve bridge repair work at six sites

Union County commissioners approved a $13,000 agreement with Larson Design Group to push repair work forward at at least six county-owned bridges, a move that could affect school runs, farm traffic and daily commuting across multiple municipalities.

The contract covers design, bidding and construction inspection tied to bridge repairs identified in recent inspection reports. Planned work includes concrete deck sealant and pavement restoration at bridge approaches, the sections where cars, trucks and emergency vehicles enter and leave the spans and where wear often shows up first. Commissioners Jeffrey Reber, Stacy Richards and Preston Boop oversee upkeep of county buildings and bridges, giving the county direct responsibility for deciding which structures get attention before deterioration becomes a bigger problem.

Because the bridges are county-owned rather than PennDOT-owned, Union County is the agency that has to set priorities and pay for the engineering work needed to move the projects ahead. That matters in a county where a few bridges can carry a heavy share of local traffic, especially in rural areas where alternate routes may be longer or less convenient for school buses, agricultural equipment and emergency responders. The county’s decision signals that inspection findings were serious enough to justify immediate preservation work instead of waiting for more costly rehabilitation later.

PennDOT says it oversees 6,600 locally owned bridges in Pennsylvania that are more than 20 feet long, and the agency has said preservation work can extend service life and defer major rehabilitation. Union County’s approach fits that model: modest repairs now, rather than letting smaller surface and approach problems turn into structural damage or full closures later. Larson Design Group has already handled bridge work in the county, including a bridge bundle for County Bridge No. 9 and County Bridge No. 25, as well as a replacement project in Kelly and Buffalo townships.

That earlier replacement project replaced a one-lane bridge and removed a load-posting restriction that had kept larger vehicles off the road, showing how bridge projects in Union County can quickly change who can use a route and how safely they can do it. With this new six-site repair effort, county officials are again choosing maintenance before a failing bridge becomes a detour, a restriction or a more expensive rebuild.