(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

With the recent collapse of the Forbes Avenue bridge at Frick Park in Pittsburgh, thousands of citizens in southwestern Pennsylvania are wondering if the bridges in their neck of the woods are safe enough to keep driving on. Beaver County–home to dozens of state and local bridges–is no exception to that concern.

Commissioner Jack Manning spoke in depth about these concerns at the Commissioners’ work session on February 2, noting that the majority of the major bridges are in fair to good condition based on PennDOT’s standards (the interactive map displaying the bridge conditions throughout Pennsylvania can be seen here).

“I know we’ve had a lot of questions about the safety of the [Ambridge-Aliquippa] bridge and bridges in general,” Manning stated, “but if we have any concerns at all, public safety is our number one concern.”

However, Commissioner Manning also mused at the future reality regarding the Ambridge-Aliquippa bridge, noting that the bridge is approaching 100 years since its creation. The bridge underwent emergency repairs in November 2021, and Manning brought up the possibility of replacing the bridge in the future.

“I don’t know what it would cost to build a bridge next to the Ambridge-Aliquippa bridge,” Manning said, “but I think that it’s probably going to happen or have to happen at some point in time. It’s probably the most expedient thing, but it’s going to take a lot of money from someone else–not the county–to come up with.”

Manning cited recent bridge upgrades and replacements in Beaver County, including the Veteran’s Bridge in Fallston ($25 million) and the Koppel Bridge ($28 million), to give an idea of what the cost of the Ambridge-Aliquippa bridge would be to replace.