Structure 23207 · Lehigh County, PA

Pa 873 (lr 163) over Lehigh River & N/s Rr

Carries Pa 873 (lr 163) over Lehigh River & N/s Rr, Lehigh Gap Bridge.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Superstructure and Substructure at 5 of 9.

How ratings work
Deck6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Substructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Channelnot part of overall5/9 · Fair
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT1,024 FT OVERALL200 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 5/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 5/9 · sets the rating

1,024 ft end to end, longest span 164 ft: about 2.8 football fields. Lengths and the semi-truck on the deck are drawn to the same scale. Each part is colored by its latest inspection rating. The inventory records lengths but not heights or the layout of the shorter spans, so those are drawn as typical for a deck truss.

Built1930rebuilt 1984
Length1024.0 ft312.1 m
Daily traffic9,562counted 2024
Last inspectedOctober 2023every 24 months

Location

StatePennsylvania
CountyLehigh
LocationLehigh Gap Bridge
CarriesPa 873 (lr 163)
CrossesLehigh River & N/s Rr
Coordinates40.78236, -75.60732

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignTruss - Deck
Total Length1024.0 ft (312.1 m)
Max Span164.0 ft (50 m)
Deck Width25.9 ft (7.9 m)
Deck Area2465.6 sq m
Main Spans5
Year Built1930 (reconstructed 1984)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic9,562 (2024)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionOctober 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical5 — Stable for scour
Structure Number000000000023207

How Bridge Ratings Work

Inspectors rate each major part of a bridge (the deck you drive on, the superstructure of beams that holds it up, and the substructure of piers and abutments beneath) on a 0–9 scale. A bridge's overall condition is its lowest of those ratings, so one deteriorated component makes the whole bridge "poor."

0Failed
1Imminent failure
2Critical
3Serious
4Poor
5Fair
6Satisfactory
7Good
8Very good
9Excellent
Good · lowest component 7–9
Fair · lowest component 5–6
Poor · lowest component 0–4

A poor rating is not a closure. It means the bridge is flagged for priority repair or replacement; bridges judged unsafe are closed or posted with weight limits. The waterway (channel) rating is reported, but it does not count toward the overall classification.

Nearby Bridges