Projects
The Stone Arch Bridge Management Plan

As one of the original 13 colonies, Pennsylvania is blessed with a great many stone arch bridges. These sturdy and graceful structures span streams and rivers, mill races, roads and railroads across the state. In many cases, our stone arch bridge designs are based on European designs and innovations that have their origins in Roman times. Many of our stone arch bridges are eligible for listing, or are already listed, on the National Register of Historic Places or

have been recorded in the Historic American Engineering Record. While some Commonwealth stone arch bridges are owned by counties and municipalities, the responsibility for caring for many of them lies with PennDOT.

As the Commonwealth's population has grown and our transportation system has expanded, the management of our legacy of stone arch bridges has become increasingly challenging, and nowhere has the challenge been greater than in Engineering District 6-0. District 6 includes the oldest areas of European settlement in Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester,Montgomery, and Bucks counties, and there are 134 stone arch bridges

over 20 feet in length in the District that range in age from the very early 19th century to the early to mid 20th century. District 6 is also experiencing rapid population growth, economic expansion and expanding transportation demands. In order to effectively address the challenges of managing the District's bridges in the face of these demands, the Department is implementing its very first Stone Arch Bridge Management Plan.

The plan will have four components including:

The development of criteria for evaluating each bridge's candidacy for preservation based on its condition, safety, historic significance, role in the transportation system and public opinion
The development of maintenance procedures and programs for bridges that will be preserved
The development of a program to track inspection, maintenance and repairs for each bridge and
A system for monitoring and regularly updating the management plan itself

Would you like to help with the management plan for District 6's stone arch bridges by providing us with your comments, or would you like more information about the plan? If so, please contact Kara Russell, the Central Office Architectural Historian at (717) 705-1484 or Monica Harrower, the District 6 Architectural Historian at (610) 205-6709. Please

help us manage this rich legacy of the Commonwealth's past for future generations of travelers to enjoy and appreciate!