This split image from Google Maps shows the Rupert Road bridge from a driver's perspective, above, and its mapped location below
SANATOGA PA – Attorneys working on behalf of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township said Monday (Feb. 6, 2012) they’re hopeful good things may soon happen in finding cash to fix the crumbling Rupert Road bridge on the municipality’s east side. As evidence of their confidence, the Board of Commissioners was asked to consider scheduling a special meeting on the topic next week.
Commissioners unanimously agreed. A date has yet to be set, pending Manager Rodney Hawthorne’s check of other calendar items. The Post will report the meeting date when it is announced.
The bridge carries Rupert Road across Hartenstine Creek, and is deemed to be one of six structurally deficient bridges in Lower Pottsgrove. During weekdays it bears a heavy load of traffic moving mornings from the township’s northwest end to the Sanatoga interchange of U.S. Route 422, and back in evening hours.
It’s been on the township’s to-fix list for years, with $375,000 or more for the job intended to have come from developers responsible for building the housing community surrounding Raven’s Claw Golf Club on the road’s east side. The money, according to Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway, sits earmarked for the purpose but untapped in a Wilmington DE bank.
Commissioners last April (2011) directed Holloway and their special counsel, the Furey & Baldassari P.C. law firm in Audubon, to file a lawsuit in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas against developer DHLP LLC. It bought the community from an earlier developer, and consequently assumed liability to pay for the bridge’s repair or replacement, Holloway said.
The township and DHLP had been negotiating over the total sum involved for some time. Those talks broke off earlier last year, and then resumed when the lawsuit was ordered. Now, Holloway explained, they seem to be headed toward a conclusion. “There’s movement,” the solicitor cautiously announced Monday, “and it’s my recommendation we try not to lose it if we can.”
Because the board won’t meet again until Feb. 23, Holloway advocated the special meeting. It will be open to the public, but likely will be preceded by a closed-door executive session during which commissioners would learn the details of any agreement and be able to ask questions regarding it. Such private talks regarding litigation are allowed by state law.
Related:
- Settlement May Be Near In Rupert Road Bridge Lawsuit
- Rupert Road Bridge Repair Funds ‘Wait’ In DE Bank
- Township Plans $375,000+ Suit To Fix Rupert Bridge
- Report: Six Bridges In Township ‘Structurally Deficient’
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 6 meeting):
Images from Google Maps
The $375K figure is based on old reconstruction data and estimates. Important that a settlement is adjusted for inflation. Also interest …
Lets make sure we close down the road/bridge for a minimal period. Bad news for those that live here but the bridge needs repairing and has for along time.