Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo released more details Monday about last week’s closure of the county-owned Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River.
She said her release was prompted by a “significant amount of misinformation circulating,” including assertions that the county purposefully gave short notice.
“I want to take a moment to clarify the situation and ensure that everyone has the correct information,” her statement said.
According to Crocamo, the county “acted swiftly in response to the urgent situation” on March 20.
She released this timeline:
• 10 a.m.: The county was notified that engineers conducting the scheduled routine bridge inspection required a meeting with the county administration.
• 11 a.m.: During the meeting with engineers, the administration was informed of advanced deterioration and section loss of primary, load-carrying components — the floor beams and truss members — that were deemed critical deficiencies. Based on this information, Crocamo decided to close the bridge to all vehicular and foot traffic.
• By noon: The county had notified county and municipal officials and emergency responders to ensure they were informed and prepared. The county also requested engineering design of a permanent barrier and reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for assistance.
• By 2:30 p.m.: Temporary barriers were successfully erected with PennDOT’s assistance to secure the area.
The county has ordered permanent barriers and is attempting to install them by Thursday, she said, noting the county will inspect the barriers daily, including weekends.
County administrators also have been working with the county engineer to respond to inquiries from municipal leaders, she added.
The decision to close the bridge was “not taken lightly” and was made “after careful consideration” of the information presented by bridge inspection engineers, Crocamo said.
“We understand that this may cause inconvenience, but the safety of our community is our top priority,” she said of the bridge closure.
Inspections were required every six months due to the bridge’s condition, officials had said.
Totaling 2,072 feet, the bridge connects Nanticoke and the West Nanticoke section of Plymouth Township. The crossing was constructed in 1914 and last rehabilitated in 1987.
The weight limit of the bridge was reduced to 5 tons last May, which allowed passenger vehicles but not fire trucks and emergency rescue vehicles.
With the closing, the alternate route is the Route 29/South Cross Valley Expressway crossing, officially called the John S. Fine Bridge.
Crocamo said the closure ultimately was “compelled by years of neglect and decay” and that the bridge weight limit was “a clear indication that we were facing an inevitable outcome.”
“Just as Father Time eventually prevails, a bridge in the condition of the Nanticoke one is not like a fine bottle of wine — it will not improve with age,” her release said.
The county is in the process of selecting an engineer who must come up with three options to address the bridge.
In addition to $10 million in federal funding allocated through the state for this project, the county has access to a $55 million casino gambling fund established for county infrastructure.
Three options were already presented for the bridge early last year by Alfred Benesch and Associates, which had been hired by the county before federal funding was involved.
However, the county must start from scratch in determining a solution for the bridge because federal funding has been allocated to the project through the state, officials have said. Benesch’s work thus far cannot be applied to the final project because the selection process for the engineer must go through the PennDOT procurement system, officials have said.
Prospective engineering firms were required to file statements of interests by March 20, and their submissions are under review, Crocamo said.
The bridge replacement process will take years, officials have said. Meetings will be held with municipal and state representatives and the public to provide status reports and seek input, she said.
“Whatever the final decision may be, we must ensure that we approach it with careful consideration and commitment to doing it right,” she said.