Metal truss bridges are symbols of Pennsylvania’s industrial heritage, and according to many experts, the Commonwealth has one of the earliest, most diverse, and most significant population of metal truss bridges in the United States. However, these irreplaceable resources are quickly fading from our landscape. Metal truss bridges were not designed to carry modern traffic loads and they do not conform to modern safety standards, which often leads to them being replaced in favor of new bridges. Pennsylvania has lost nearly 50% of their metal truss bridges within the last twenty years alone. To address the accelerating loss of metal truss bridges, and to preserve Pennsylvania’s transportation heritage for the future, PennDOT developed the Truss Management Plan. This laid the foundation for the Historic Metal Truss Bridge Capital Rehabilitation Program.

This Program, created as part of the 2021 Twelve Year Program (TYP) update, includes $18 million spread over a ten-year period to promote the rehabilitation of historic metal truss bridges. The Program is primarily focused on county and municipally owned bridges where owners desire to work collaboratively with PennDOT, MPOs/RPOs, and other interested groups to rehabilitate their historic resource for continuous vehicular use. To learn more about the Historic Metal Truss Bridge Capital Rehabilitation Program, join us for the upcoming Drop-In. The session will provide a short background about the development of the Truss Management Plan followed by an overview of the new program, including where it currently stands and what projects are in progress.

May 11, 2023, Noon to 1 p.m. Registration link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6465114507670354525