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Residents and commuters who have been wondering when the Meadows Road Bridge will reopen recently received an update from Lower Saucon Township officials.

In an email to subscribers earlier this month, officials confirmed that the bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in mid-June 2026, approximately eight years after the former span was closed due to structural issues.

Built in 1858, the former bridge was of a single-lane, humpback design, which also rendered it functionally obsolete. When portions of the stone bridge began to collapse into the Saucon Creek several years ago, county officials decided to replace it instead of restoring it, despite the fact that it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

The new bridge is being built by Kinsley Construction of York, Pa., which provided an update on the Meadows Road project on its Facebook page in early July.

“Here’s what we’ve completed so far: site clearing, pier construction and the buildout of abutment #2,” the post said. “This summer, we’re constructing abutment #1 and setting the bridge beams. In the fall, we’ll pour the deck and complete the remaining roadwork and paving.”

According to the township update, both abutments were complete as of late July.

The new span is a two-span box beam bridge that will be 100 feet long. The project also includes installing foundations as deep as 150 feet; constructing sidewalks, driveways and curbs; and upgrading drainage systems, Kinsley Construction said.

At the Sept. 3 Lower Saucon Township Council meeting, council members discussed providing additional updates to residents of Meadows Road west of where the bridge is has been out since April 2018. Due to the fact that the road has effectively been a dead-end for an extended period of time, council members said some residents have grown accustomed to the reduced traffic flow near their homes and may appreciate advance notice before regular traffic begins to flow again next year.

The bridge is located just west of busy Rt. 412, near the border between the township and Hellertown borough.