Whitehall council last night authorized borough engineer Ruthann Omer to inspect the Heinen Street pedestrian bridge to determine its structural soundness and to provide a cost estimate of repairs needed to the 25-foot span.

Borough officials closed the bridge Nov. 13 because of safety concerns raised by the public works department after normal maintenance work on its wooden decking.

The bridge was constructed by the borough in the mid-1990s following the removal of a vehicular bridge as part of a million dollar improvement project to eliminate flooding along a creek.

The bridge provides some residents with access to several local public transportation stops on Weyman and Provost roads.

Borough Manager Jim Leventry said more than a dozen residents have contacted him to complain about its closure.

"I need the bridge," Earlsdale Drive resident Carol Lynch told council, explaining how she and other residents in the immediate area use it to get to bus stops.

Councilman Bob McKown said, "Residents are being inconvenienced."

Although officials initially had discussed eliminating the bridge, Council President Phil Lahr said the emphasis is on repairing it to make it safe.

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