Chestnut Street Bridge reopens with new name

DOWNINGTOWN >> A nearly 100-year-old local landmark, formerly known as the Chestnut Street Bridge, is no more. There’s a new bridge in town. On Thursday morning, officials gathered at the site of a new, $5.9 million bridge on Chestnut Street, a structure which again serves local drivers as an overpass for vehicles. The bridge is built above regional transit rail lines which run through the borough.

“We had a small ceremony with a brief history of the bridge and how the replacement came to be

a reality with a lot of determination (in the late 1980s, early 1990s) from then councilman Bill Mason,” said Edward Seidel of Medveczky Associates.

Seidel said Mason was the last local resident to drive over the old bridge. And, on Thursday morning, he became the first person to drive over the new one, during an official ribbonbreaking ceremony.

“And so the bridge was officially opened to the public at 9 a.m.,” Seidel said. He served as project manager for the structure’s construction.

The bridge initially closed more than two years ago, in early 2019. “By September of that year, I was starting to wonder if we were ever going to start construction,” Seidel said.

The project manager thanked the entire “team” who worked to make the dream of this new bridge a reality for the community of Downingtown.

“Team — and I really mean ‘team,’ Allan Myers’ diligence, Borough of Downingtown officials Steve Sullens and Jack Law’s patience — and hard

work finally paid off.”

Seidel said he’s worked on a lot of bridges over the course of his more than 40year career in bridge and highway construction. Of the new Bill Mason Bridge, he said: “I personally think this is one of the best.

“The residents of the Borough of Downingtown and surrounding communities have a beautiful structure they can enjoy for many, many years to come. I am grateful,” Seidel continued, “to be a part of it.”

Downingtown built the former historic Chestnut Street Bridge in 1927. The structure was 212 feet long, crossing over train rails for Amtrak, SEPTA and Norfolk Southern.

Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague said the bridge reopened on Thursday as the Bill Mason Bridge.

A lifelong Downingtown resident and former Borough Council member, the mayor said Mason spearheaded efforts to replace the bridge beginning more than three decades ago.

“Thanks to a myriad of government bureaucracy and red tape, the project has taken 35 years to reach fulfillment,” Dague said. “The original bridge opened in 1927, giving us 92 years of service, we expect at least that much from

the new bridge.”

Dague said the bridge provides a vital passage over a very active rail line that services both Amtrak and the SEPTA R5 lines.

Downingtown serves as a regional Philadelphia transportation hub with a commuter and intercity passenger rail station in the heart of downtown, along the Brandywine River, at West Lancaster and Stuart avenues.

“With the bridge out of commission the alternative routes have been circuitous for some and were frequently congested,” Dague said.

Former Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell, now the vice chair of the Chester County Commissioners, concurred.

“While this project took a lot of pushing to get finished,” Maxwell said on Thursday, “I’m thrilled that the Downingtown community will have a safe bridge with pedestrian access from the east side of town that will connect to the new train station and the future Chester Valley Trail Extension.”

Funding to pay for the replacement bridge was allocated via 80 percent from federal sources, 15 percent provided by the Commonwealth, and 5 percent locally, as previously reported.

The $5.9 million project to revamp the 93-year-old overpass took more than 25 months to complete and involved years of planning by construction, infrastructure and transportation experts across multiple agencies spanning local, regional, state and federal government bodies.

Chestnut Street, a bustling and heavily traveled route for locals and commuters alike, is overseen and managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

“PennDOT is happy to see the completion of this important local bridge replacement project,” said Chelsea Lacey-Mabe, digital community relations coordinator for PennDOT at Engineering District 6. “The reopening of Chestnut Street returns an important thoroughfare to the community and provides a safer crossing for traveling motorists.”

For drivers traveling along Chestnut Street, the new Bill Mason Bridge again reconnects people to two neighboring municipalities, Downingtown Borough and East Caln Township, over the regional train tracks leading eastbound to Philadelphia and beyond.