Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
The long-envisioned pedestrian bridge over Newtown Creek is taking a major step forward, as the Newtown Creek Coalition and its municipal partners are now officially receiving bids from contractors to bring the project to life.
Following a recent unanimous vote by local officials to move the process ahead, the project, years in the making, has entered a critical phase. According to Coalition President Mike Sellers, interest from contractors has already been strong.
“We’ve had a list of contractors show interest, and we currently are receiving bids for the project,” Sellers said. “The next step is to evaluate those bids, find the best qualified bidder, and then make a recommendation to actually build it.”
The proposed bridge will span Newtown Creek, connecting Frost Lane in Newtown Borough with North Sycamore Street in Newtown Township. Once complete, the bridge and path will be almost 700 feet, of which the bridge itself will be 170-feet long and eight-feet wide. This structure will provide a safe, dedicated crossing for pedestrians and cyclists; something that does not currently exist in that area.
While the project is now gaining visible momentum, its origins stretch back more than a decade. Sellers explained that the idea of a pedestrian bridge emerged from a broader community effort to reimagine how residents interact with the creek.
“This bridge has been talked about for many years off and on, but in earnest we started back in about 2012,” he said. “We held a number of visioning sessions with people in the community, and one of those features was the construction of a pedestrian bridge.”
Those early conversations were part of a larger mission that began when the Coalition itself was founded in 2006. At the time, local residents and officials from both Newtown Borough and Newtown Township came together with a shared realization: the creek, despite its natural beauty and historic importance, was largely overlooked.
“Newtown Creek is kind of a hidden gem in the area,” Sellers said. “It’s something that people just drove over every day, but was really not appreciated.”
Running approximately 9.6 miles as a tributary of the Neshaminy Creek, the waterway has played a vital role in the region since the time of William Penn. Yet for decades, it remained more of a backdrop than a destination.
The pedestrian bridge project aims to change that.
Momentum accelerated significantly in November 2024, when the Coalition, alongside Newtown Township and Newtown Borough, secured a $1 million Local Share Account grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The funding marked a turning point.
“We were very, very fortunate to have it granted the first time,” Sellers said, noting the competitive nature of the program. “There are thousands of applications for it every year, and that’s largely through a lot of support we received from local groups, elected officials, and the community.”
That support helped transform the bridge from a conceptual idea into a coordinated, multi-municipal effort. Newtown Township has taken the lead role in administering the grant, while the Borough and the Coalition continue to collaborate on design and implementation.
Since receiving funding, the project has progressed steadily, from engineering selection and design approvals to its current bidding phase. If all continues on schedule, construction is expected to begin later in 2026, with completion anticipated in spring 2027.
More than just a physical structure, the pedestrian bridge is designed to address a range of community needs, from safety and accessibility to economic vitality and environmental awareness.
Right now, residents on either side of the creek face limited and often unsafe options for crossing.
“If you think about Centre Bridge, Washington, Jefferson, these are all bridges that have one-sided sidewalks and they are dangerous,” Sellers said. “So this is a way of providing a safe, effective way to get from one side to the other without endangering yourself or others.”
By creating a dedicated crossing, the bridge will link residential neighborhoods with key commercial areas, including the Village of Newtown. Sellers emphasized that this could have a meaningful impact on traffic and parking.
“The more people you have using the bridge, the less people are driving,” he said. “That means we are going to have less congestion, as well as less required parking.”
The project also fills a longstanding gap in the region’s trail network, connecting existing pathways and expanding recreational access throughout Bucks County and beyond.
“This project fills a missing link in the local trail system,” Sellers said. “It’s a puzzle piece that connects not only locally, but within the region.”
The selected location for the bridge is no accident. It follows the path of the historic Newtown trolley line, which operated from 1898 to 1923, and will be built adjacent to the original trolley bridge foundations.
“This path was a natural,” Sellers said. “The old remnants of the trolley bridge are still there, so this was a natural for a pedestrian crossing.”
Plans call for incorporating that history into the design, with educational signage and lighting to highlight the original structure. Visitors will not only cross the creek but also gain a deeper understanding of the area’s transportation heritage.
The bridge itself will feature modern composite materials, ADA-compliant access, and lighting designed to enhance safety while preserving the natural setting. Additional features, including scenic “bump-outs” and a path leading down to the creek, are intended to encourage people to pause, explore, and connect with the environment.
One of the less visible but critical aspects of the project has been the cooperation of local property owners. Several private individuals and entities granted easements to make construction possible.
“It’s very important to mention that the project wouldn’t be possible were it not for private landowners,” Sellers said. “They are allowing us to build on the area that is on their property.”
That spirit of collaboration has been a defining characteristic of the project from the beginning, reflected in strong public backing and alignment with multiple local planning initiatives.
While the pedestrian bridge is currently the Coalition’s primary focus, it represents just one part of a broader mission: “to improve, protect and preserve Newtown Creek and to encourage appropriate use of this natural and historic resource by the community.”
Over the years, that mission has taken shape through hands-on environmental efforts.
“Our mission has evolved by engaging in activities such as creek cleanups,” Sellers said. “We gather volunteers to clean up things that naturally end up getting in there.”
Those efforts have paid off. What were once regular semiannual cleanups have become less frequent as conditions have improved.
“We’ve done a pretty good job keeping it clear over the years,” he said.
In addition to cleanups, the Coalition has developed a growing water quality testing program, monitoring everything from chemical presence to aquatic life.
“We measure several times a year to make sure that we’re not having problems,” Sellers said. “And if it’s not [healthy], [we’re] able to take steps to find out what the problem is.”
Looking ahead, Sellers believes the bridge will strengthen those environmental efforts by bringing people closer to the creek itself.
“When people can actually visualize and be close to the creek, they begin to understand how this is something that’s been hidden away,” he said. “It helps spread awareness of environmental stewardship.”
As bids continue to come in and the selection process moves forward, the pedestrian bridge project stands at a pivotal moment, transitioning from years of planning into tangible progress.
For Sellers and the Coalition, the goal remains clear.
“The vision is to have people appreciate this resource as something literally in their own community,” he said. “To get out of their cars, walk, bike, and just enjoy the creek.”
