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Pocono News Section
8th Street Bridge Passes Inspection
8th Street Bridge Passes Inspection - Monday, July 21, 2008 at 4:47PM EST
Reported by: Dave Skutnik
Monday, Jul 21, 2008 @ 04:47pm EST
WYOMING, LUZERNE COUNTY- About 14,000 drivers had to find another way around in Luzerne County. The 8th Street Bridge, connecting Wyoming with Jenkins Township, was closed. Inspectors checked it for cracks and other structural problems.
There wasn't much of a lunch crowd at Gina's Pizza in Wyoming. Drivers were forced to turn around instead of crossing the 8th Street Bridge. PennDOT inspectors spend Monday above - on - and below the aging structure.
People who live and work here think the nearly 100-year-old bridge won't last much longer. "Every day you go by it you wonder if you're going to make it across," said Guy Mancini of West Wyoming.
The bridge is narrow and filled with pot holes, making it difficult to navigate. "The cars that come across here. How many do you see losing hubcaps coming across or banging off the side," asked Mancini.
He says driving the bridge is almost always an adventure. "Old ladies in Buicks, hitting the side as they're coming across, it makes you a little nervous sometimes."
It's rusted, it's crumbling, it's literally coming apart at the seams. But in just a few more years, the 8th Street Bridge will be no more. Bids will go out in just 6 weeks to build a completely new bridge. Construction will get started in the spring, but will take 2 years. In the meantime the existing bridge will have to do, despite being rated one of the worst in Northeast PA. "It’s at the top or near the top of the list, but of course that doesn't mean it's unsafe. If it were unsafe, we'd close it," said PennDOT’s Mike Cotter.
The bridge did pass Monday's inspection, but for many the summer of 2011 can't come soon enough. Plans show the new bridge will have wider lanes and turning lanes on both sides of the river, which should eliminate the River Road traffic crunch around rush hour.
Monday’s inspection was originally supposed to continue into Tuesday. But PennDOT says they finished early and the bridge will be open all day.
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