A portion of the Route 873 Gap Bridge in Slatington will be shut down to traffic starting next week.

The Route 873 south detour is scheduled to begin on March 6, said Ron Young, PennDOT spokesperson.

Young said Route 873 traffic will be routed onto Route 248, Route 145 and Main Street.

He said Route 873 south will be closed for most of the project, though there may be times when both south and north are closed.

Young said these times are limited to full detours on weeknights (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and over two weekends (8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday) to perform critical activities.

He said advance notice will be provided to the public when full closures are scheduled.

Young said the project will cost $6,923,127, and that Kriger Construction Inc. of Scranton, is in charge of the work.

He said the project is anticipated to be complete in February 2026.

Young said the project calls for the rehabilitation of the Route 873 Lehigh Gap Bridge over the Lehigh River Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L) Trail, Paint Mill Road, and Norfolk Southern Railroad in Washington Township, Lehigh County and Lehigh Township, Northampton County.

“Work will include bridge cleaning, structural steel repairs, bearing repairs, painting, expansion joint replacement, concrete deck repairs, and placement of a deck overlay,” Young said. “Approach roadway work will be limited to milling and paving.”

Young said the bridge was built in 1930 and last rehabilitated in 1984.

He noted the bridge has an average daily traffic volume of 9,562 vehicles.

Young said the bridge is seven spans with a total structure length of 1,024 feet. The deck width is 26 feet.

He said Spans 1 and 7 are riveted steel through girders, while spans 2 through 6 are steel trusses.