PUBLIC NOTICE HISTORIC MEAD AVENUE BRIDGE AVAILABLE FOR RELOCATION The Federal Highway Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the County of Crawford announce the availability of the historic Mead Avenue Bridge, located in the City of Meadville, PA for relocation and preservation. The National Register-eligible Mead Avenue Bridge is a bridge within a bridge: a 1912 Baltimore truss (outside) grafted to an 1871 Double Whipple truss (inside). The bridge was documented to full Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) in 1998 and is currently closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic due to significant structural deterioration issues. The bridge is a two-span wrought iron, cast iron and steel structure with sidewalks. Its total length is 263 feet, each span is 129 feet; its total width is 32 feet and without sidewalks the width is 19 feet 4 inches. This bridge is available to qualified public agencies, non-profits, and private responsible entities. Technical difficulties, substantial costs and removal in a timely manner are all associated with relocating and reconstructing this structure and are to be anticipated. French Creek has a population of federally endangered mussels, which restricts construction activities within the creek. In an effort to preserve this unique historic structure, the Crawford County Board of Commissioners will transfer ownership of this bridge to any responsible party who can relocate, restore and reuse the structure. Historic preservation covenants will be attached to the deed to ensure long-term preservation and maintenance. If an organization or individual is interested in this bridge, a letter of interest should be forwarded to the Crawford County Board of Commissioners, Francis F. Weiderspahn, Jr., Chairman at Courthouse, 1st Floor, 903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA 16335 by June 15, 2013. This allows an interested party time to assess the bridge's present structural condition and the site conditions to determine feasibility for this effort. 04/09,21/13
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