Bridge manager always looking to fix, replace
Nobody considers the importance of the 134 county-owned bridges on city, borough and township roads. No one, that is, except Kevin Gray.
Gray has been the county's bridge manager since 2011, when 40 of those bridges were deemed structurally deficient by state inspectors.
During his tenure, his five-person crew has reduced that number to 25. Gray hopes to have less than 20 deficient bridges in five years or less.
“It benefits everyone in the county,” Gray said of the repairs and replacements his staff has undertaken, “especially the people who don't live on state roads, which is the majority of the people.”
Gray has been able to reduce the number of deficient bridges by thinking outside the box, attending seminars and understanding how to most efficiently repair thousands of types of bridges.
“My job is to get as much done as possible with the money that's allotted to me,” he said.
That skill has not gone unnoticed by county commissioners, who vote on every bridge project recommended by Gray.
“Through that process, you have saved our county taxpayers a lot of money and encouraged collaboration with a lot of counties,” said Commissioner Kim Geyer at the Wednesday commissioners meeting. “We are very appreciative of that.”
Geyer said she learned that once it is rehabilitated or replaced, a bridge can last upward of 50 years.
“That's a great investment in our county,” she said.
Commissioner Kevin Boozel noted Gray's innovative bridge repair methods.
Gray said the bridges are owned by the county either because a financially struggling municipality has asked the county to take over the bridge, or because the county has owned many bridges since the Great Depression in the 1930s, when bridge grant money began being distributed to counties only and not municipalities.
Today, county taxpayers contribute only a small amount toward the millions of dollars in bridge repairs or replacements.
“Most of all, our bridge repairs are paid for out of state money,” Gray said. “This year, I estimate the county will pay about $90,000 for bridges.”
While maintaining or repairing most bridges, he tries to replace one every year or at least every other year.“If we didn't get the funding, the county could afford to replace one bridge per year,” Gray said. “It would take 134 years.”He said the county owns everything from tiny bridges over unnamed tributaries to a 160-foot bridge that spans the Connoquenessing Creek in Forward Township. Older ones often are in a state of disrepair.Gray said he closed the Hemphill Bridge earlier this month on Goldscheitter Road in Clinton Township. The county crew plans to do a full replacement on the bridge.Crews found a small hole in the bridge and came out to repair it.Digging into the bridge past the surface, it was discovered that the entire bridge deck was crumbling. It didn't take long for Gray to decide to close the unsafe span.“That was a 114-year-old bridge,” Gray said. “You just never know what you're going to get into with bridges that are 100 years old or more. We're looking to get it replaced as soon as we can.”He recalls another severely failing bridge his crews replaced in 2013 on Marwood Road in Winfield Township.Gray said century-old bridges in the county are slowly being replaced.He has a plaque from a county bridge dedicated in 1899 as well as other bridge plaques from 1905 and 1923.Gray regrets he is unable to save marble bridge plaques, but has seen them in the county from 1915 and 1918.The county bridge crew also helps neighboring counties such as Armstrong, which needed a small repair last year on the bridge that leads to the community hospital.Gray said Armstrong County does not have a bridge crew and contacted him for help.Gray's crew was able to make the repair in a few days. Armstrong then reimbursed Butler for the expenses incurred in repairing the bridge.The county bridge crew also does culvert replacements for townships and boroughs in the county.“If they have a culvert over 10 feet and they need help, we will replace it at cost,” Gray said. “It saves them a lot of money.”The two bridge repairs approved Wednesday by the commissioners are the Wylie Road Bridge in Clinton Township and the Brickyard Hill Bridge in Mars.Now that they're approved, Gray will have his crew tear into them as soon as possible.“I like what I do and I try to do the very best I can every day,” Gray said.
