KATELYN HIBBARD/Sun-Gazette Lycoming County Commissioners Rick Mirabito, Jack McKernan and Tony Mussare accompany County Transportation Supervisor Mark Murawski and Kurt Brungard and Dave Gunsallus, of Larson Design Group, on an inspection of three structurally deficient bridges that could be repaired by a proposed $5 vehicle registration fee. The lowest weight legally allowed before a bridge must be closed is 3 tons, which is imposed on this bridge on Crawley Road over Sugar Run in Moreland Township.

Before voting yea or nay on levying a $5 vehicle registration fee, Lycoming County commissioners wanted to see some of the structurally deficient municipality-owned bridges that would benefit from the fee.

On Wednesday morning, Commissioners Jack McKernan, Rick Mirabito and Tony Mussare, along with Mark Murawski, transportation supervisor, and Kurt Brungard and Dave

Gunsallus, of Larson Design Group, county engineer, observed three of 40 bridges that may be chosen for repairs.

“(The tour) verified the need that’s out there,” McKernan said. “We wanted to do this before the vote.”

Enacting a $5 fee would allow the commissioners to take out a loan of nearly $8 million with a 2-percent interest rate. The loan would be used to fund a bridge bundling program throughout the county to address 40 of the structurally deficient bridges. The county then would use the $5 fee to pay back the loan at nearly $870,000 per year, Murawski said.

A potential catch, Mussare said, is that the state now allows drivers to register their vehicles for two years at once. At a cost of $32 per registration plus the imposed fee, someone registering for two years would pay $77 — meaning only $5 is collected for both registrations instead of $5 per registration, which makes estimating income for the second year difficult.

“That’s a concern of mine,” he said, especially considering the fees will be used to pay on a loan.

The group toured three of the 40 bridges in consideration for repairs, each more deficient than the last.

The first bridge, on Heilman Road over East Mill Creek in Upper Fairfield Township, had a sufficiency rating of 57 out of 100. The mid-level supportive structure, or superstructure, was made of weathering steel and paired with an open steel grid deck, allowing for erosion from road debris — particularly road salt and cinders. Some beams were full of holes.

“When it starts to wear away, it’s going to go very quickly,” Murawski said, adding the bridge withstands about 250 cars per day.

Upper Fairfield Township has two structurally deficient bridges.

The second, on Bartlow Drive over Greg’s Run in Penn Township, originally was built in 1900 and is one of the oldest “surviving” bridges, Murawski said.

The bridge was built similarly to the first and the steel beams in its superstructure are riddled with holes. Further, the stream’s direction shifted, eroding the foundation. Its sufficiency rating is 48 out of 100 and it accommodates about 50 cars daily.

Though a legal load for transportation in the state is 40 tons, the Bartlow Drive bridge has a weight limit of 19 tons. That limit has decreased after each of its last three inspections, Gunsallus and Brungard noted.

Penn Township has four structurally deficient bridges, making it one of the most needy municipalities, Murawski said.

The third bridge, on Crawley Road over Sugar Run in Moreland Township, is a single-lane bridge with a laminated timber deck. Its substructure is in serious condition and there is a weight limit of 3 tons — the lowest weight limit allowed before a bridge must legally be closed. It has a sufficiency rating of 38 out of 100.

When the bridge gets its makeover, it will have to be expanded to two lanes to meet federal regulations and accommodate the approximately 50 cars it sees per day. Moreland Township has two bridges in need of repairs.

Commissioners will vote on the $5 fee at their regular meeting June 15. If passed, municipalities will be given the choice to participate or opt out, meaning they can choose to take care of bridges with or without county aid. All county residents will have to pay the vehicle registration fee regardless of whether their respective municipalities want to participate in the program, Murawski said.

And, if the program doesn’t work out as expected, the commissioners said they will pull out.

“If we get into it and find that things change or don’t happen as we were told, the three of us will pull the plug,” McKernan said.

Murawski added that, through the federal Surface Transportation Program, the county also may receive a $5 match per every $5 collected for vehicle registrations. Those funds also will go toward bridge repairs.

“We’re taxed enough,” Mussare said. “But if we can get matching funds, an extra $5 for our $5, then we couldn’t spend our dollars any wiser.”

If the fee is approved in June, the county would receive its first federal match in December. By that time, Murawski said he should already have engineers on board. Design work and getting permits in place is expected to take about two years, with construction lasting one to two years.

Once the bridges are repaired or rebuilt, municipalities will retain ownership and be responsible for maintenance. To help, the county offers a federally funded program called the Local Technical Assistance Program that includes free bridge maintenance training. The next class will be held June 15, Murawski said.

“I believe Act 89 (the fee portion of the state Transportation Plan) is a good investment and, long term, I believe it’ll keep costs down for the county and the people who live here,” McKernan said.

Mirabito was in agreement.

“Some people feel it’s another fee being imposed, but I think you have to weigh the benefits,” he said. “It’s probably the most cost effective way for us to help the people of Lycoming County keep up with the infrastructure.”