Construction on New Keim Street Bridge to Begin?

Will the Keim Street Bridge ever re-open? Montgomery County Commissioners say, again, be patient.

Like Christmas, Easter and your birthday, once a year the Montgomery County Commissioners come to Pottstown bearing gifts.

And like those other annual gift giving traditions, every year they provide the gift of re-assurance that the Keim Street Bridge, closed nine years ago, will be replaced any day now. That we just have to be patient.

You know the drill.

I think we can safely assume that after nine years, patience is far in the rear view mirror.

Only about 25 people, half of them public officials or paid county

staff, were in the audience for this year's 'Conversation

With the Commissioners' meeting April 23

Once again April 23, the three commissioners stood before a deminimus crowd at the community college's West Campus to talk about how great Montgomery County is.

And once again, Commissioner Ken Lawrence drew the short straw and got to discuss infrastructure.

"Montgomery County has 133 bridges but I know there is only one people in Pottstown want to hear about, and that's the Keim Street Bridge," he said.

The latest excuse is that Keim Street Bridge has been deemed "historic, so certain historic aspects have to be taken care of" with the new bridge, he said.

The H word means yet another agency has stuck its nose into this project, 

Now the Pennsylvania Museum and Historic Commission has to have its say before the "final design phase" we've been promised for three years can begin. Yes, that's right, I said "begin."

"I know it must be frustrating because people don't see things happening, when that are happening," Lawrence said.

Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence, left,

talks about progress, or lack thereof, on the Keim Street Bridge.

You'll have an opportunity to express that frustration, or any other emotion you care to unpack, at a meeting on the Keim Street Bridge project scheduled for Wednesday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, according to Lawrence.

He said you can go to the county website http://www.montcopa.org/bridgeinfo to get updates, so I did and the only thing I found out is that the Keim Street Bridge is number 188 on the county's list of bridges.

Lawrence did say he believes the new bridge will be aligned with Keim Street's intersection with Industrial Highway. That's good news, but also means they will have to tear up some of the new Schuylkill River Trail the commissioners cut the ribbon on one day after the "Conversations" meeting at the college.

Construction should begin in 2020 .... or 2021, he said.

The bridge was closed in October 2010 after two teams of engineers inspected the bridge and found it had significant damage to the rocker bearings, which allow the bridge to shift on its concrete piers.

The bridge connects Pottstown and North Coventry and costs for the project are expected to be shared between Montgomery County and Chester County.

The commissioners then proceeded to take turns talking about why Montgomery County is such a wonderful place to live, so long as you're not waiting for a bridge to be replaced I guess....

You can read all about that in the Tweets below

Conversations With the Commissioners