Relocated historic bridge dedicated in Saint Clair

SAINT CLAIR – When the “new” bowstring truss bridge in Saint Clair was first built, Shenandoah had been a borough for just 12 years, Saint Clair for 28, and Rutherford B. Hayes was U.S. President.

PennDOT, state, and county dignitaries gathered Tuesday morning at the Coal Creek Commerce Center to dedicate the bridge following its move from Mount Carbon to be part of the Schuylkill River Trail.

“We are happy to repurpose this historic bridge to be used on the regional trail network,” District Executive Chris Kufro said. “There are very few bowstring truss bridges left in the country, so we are proud to have this one here in Schuylkill County.”

The bridge crosses Mill Creek at the Coal Creek Commerce Center, connecting planned portions of the Schuylkill River Trail. Once completed, the trail will come through Saint Clair via surface streets in town, through the Coal Creek Commerce Center, and onto the old railroad bed leading up the grade to Frackville.

The trail is planned to extend from the Frackville Little League field south to Philadelphia across 120 miles.

PennDOT said it was a nearly $3 Million project to restore and relocate the bridge from Mount Carbon, behind Comfort Keepers and adjacent to Mount Carbon Arch Road, to Saint Clair. Fabcor, Inc. of Jessup, PA, handled the project.

Patrick Caulfield, executive director of the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, said the authority had been involved in the project “six ways to Sunday.”

The bridge was owned by SCMA and had a water line of theirs attached to it. In the 1970s, when passenger traffic ceased on the bridge, the county deeded the bridge to the water authority.

Caulfield said it is one of two bowstring truss bridges left in the state.

“We thought it was a great idea to take advantage of this [grant] program,” Caulfield said. “It would be nice for a Schuylkill County project to be able to take advantage of some of those funds.”

“We were able to partner with all of the parties and create a space for it to stay in Schuylkill County,” Caulfield added, saying it could have been moved anywhere in the state.

“We hope that this bridge and this future trail will provide a recreational path to finally connect north of the mountain and south of the mountain,” Caulfield added.

Kristina Thompson, of PennDOT, said exhaustive research determined the bridge had originally been built in Palo Alto to cross the Schuylkill Canal in 1878 and was moved to Mount Carbon in the 1890s to replace a wooden bridge.

The bridge is not yet open to the public, and bollards are present to stop off-road vehicles from using it.

Expectations are that the trail will be completed in the Saint Clair area in a few years.

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