Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/33025
Life-like renderings allow community stakeholders to visualize new infrastructure in context. downtown has hometown appeal, with continuous storefronts, ample sidewalks, interesting architecture, tree-lined streets and on-street parking. But there also are post-industrial signs of tough times, such as vacant or underutilized properties and buildings in need of upkeep or renovation. The Pottstown Economic Development Advisory I Board prepared a revitalization plan with the primary goal of strengthening the city as a center for business and employment. To that end, several “opportunity sites” have been targeted for redevelopment, including the commercial district’s west end where High Street crosses Manatawny Creek. That also is the loca- tion of a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) bridge-replacement project, which will remove a structurally deficient three-span steel-girder bridge that’s in deteriorated condition, along with an adjacent masonry-stone-arch culvert. This highly visible location is frequented by resi- dents, commuters and college students on their way to downtown, Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) and Memorial Park. The bridge sees average daily traffic volumes of 7,658 vehicles, plus pedestri- ans on the dangerously narrow sidewalks and bikes interspersed with traffic in the absence of bike lanes. With safety a key concern, all agreed that a replace- ment bridge was overdue, but the community had con- cerns about how a new structure would blend in at the gateway to the distinctive downtown corridor. “Everyone in town thought the replacement was a good thing,” says Todd Lanphear, CADD Manager for Traffic Planning & Design (TPD), the consulting- engineering firm retained to design the replacement bridge. “The existing bridge was an eyesore. But the community and stakeholders were interested in aes- thetics. They wanted to match the historic feel of the adjacent area.” Nearby historic attractions include Pottsgrove Manor, a Georgian-style house built in 1752 for Pottstown founder John Potts; the former Vaughan Knitting Mill, which was recently annexed to the MCCC West Campus; and the old Metal Weld Building, which will n Pottstown, Pa., the Main Street commercial district is bookended by two riverfront industrial parks paralleling the Schuylkill River. The historic house a restored 1905 all-wood grand carousel to be operated by the Carousel at Pottstown. TPD was challenged to design a cost-effective struc- ture that matches the aesthetics of these surrounding buildings and, at the same time, fulfills current design requirements for vehicular and pedestrian loading. The new bridge also has to address hydraulic conditions that cause pooling, scouring and silt buildup in the creek bed due to flooding during heavy storms. lTraffic Planning & Design was tasked with designing a new bridge to replace a structurally deficient three-span steel-girder bridge in deteriorated condition (top). The planned structure (bottom) matches the aesthetics of surrounding buildings and fulfills current design requirements for vehicular and pedestrian loading. M AY 2O11 / WWW . GEOPLA CE .C O M 15