State Reps Paul Friel and Joe Ciresi, Montgomery County Commissioners Tom DiBello, Jamila Winder, and Neil Makhija, and Pottstown Borough Council President Dan Weand break ground on construction of the Keim Street Bridge in Pottstown. (Credit: Montgomery County).
On March 10, Montgomery County Commissioners were joined by state and local officials to break ground on construction for the reconstruction of Keim Street Bridge in Pottstown. The bridge will be completely rebuilt with construction being 100% federally funded and a total cost of approximately $20 million. The completed new bridge is expected to open in 2028.
“When the bridge closed 15 years ago, almost 10,000 vehicles used it every day. Today, we are one step closer to bringing the Keim Street Bridge back to life. We know rebuilding this bridge has been top of mind for residents in this area for over a decade now, so we are excited to show that work to rebuild the bridge is underway,” said Neil K. Makhija, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “And the future Keim Street Bridge will be more than just a connection for vehicles. A new sidewalk will enable pedestrians to cross the river here and connect with the Schuylkill River Trail and local businesses. This is a big win for the Pottstown community as well as for our neighbors in Chester County.”
The Keim Street Bridge was built in 1935 over the Schuylkill River and connects Pottstown with bordering North Coventry Township in Chester County. The bridge was closed in 2010 due to structural deficiencies.
Due to the historic eligibility of the structure as a National Register of Historic Places, the project has gone through extensive processes, which ultimately allowed for the existing structure to be replaced. Archaeological and endangered species monitoring began in January 2025, including monitoring the existing presence of the endangered Eastern Redbelly Turtle.
The new bridge will have two 11-foot driving lanes, with two four-foot shoulders, as well as a six-foot sidewalk. Although the bridge construction is federally funded, the funds are managed and approved at the state level by PennDOT as expenses are incurred.
“The construction process involves carefully protecting endangered species and monitoring any historical artifacts. This includes the endangered redbelly turtle, which impacts the construction schedules for this project,” said Jamila Winder, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “What we are able to achieve with this project is to honor and celebrate Pottstown’s history and connect with its future. By rebuilding the bridge in synergy with its surroundings–including the environment and our cross-County partners–as well as adapting it for modern traffic use and patterns, we are preparing this region for the next century, whatever it might bring.”
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of financial support on this project, so there isn’t a great burden on Montco taxpayers. There’s a lot of work to do, but we’re really looking forward to re-connecting Montco and Chester County here over the Schuylkill,” said Tom DiBello, Montgomery County Commissioner. “There’s a lot of industry here on the Pottstown side of the bridge, and all of the small businesses in downtown Pottstown are not far. So this is important for our economy—really in the whole region.”
More information about the Keim Street Bridge project is available online here.
Photos of the groundbreaking are available here.
Livestream footage is available on Facebook here.
