Luzerne County seeking clarification on Water Street Bridge reopening denial

Luzerne County’s administration and some county council members are set to meet with a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation representative and other state officials on April 10 to discuss the county-owned Firefighters’ Memorial (Water Street) Bridge linking West Pittston and Pittston.

County Acting Manager Brian Swetz informed council of the meeting date last week and said he will provide an update summary on April 11, which is the date of the next council meeting.

PennDOT recently denied the county’s proposed reopening of the span over the Susquehanna River, and the state has the final say. The county’s consultant, Williamsport-based Larson Design Group, had concluded the county-owned span can safely reopen to traffic at a reduced weight limit for passenger vehicles only.

Commonly known as the Water Street Bridge, the crossing has been closed since August 2021 due to concerns over a bent eyebar, causing traffic on the nearby state-owned Spc. Dale J. Kridlo Bridge (Fort Jenkins) to increase from 12,000 vehicles to 20,000 per day.

The state agreed to assume responsibility for the design and construction of a solution for both bridges, which would likely be replacing the Water Street span and rehabilitating or replacing the Fort Jenkins one — both keeping their current footprints, officials said.

However, council members pursued temporary reopening of the Water Street bridge because completion of both spans will take years.

Election Board

The county election board will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for remote attendance are posted under council’s authorities/boards/commissions online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.

Holiday

Non-emergency county government offices will be closed Friday for Good Friday, one of 12 paid holidays provided to workers.

Election reimbursement

The county has submitted paperwork seeking $131,605 in state reimbursement for its expenses to conduct the Jan. 31 state senate special election impacting 18 municipalities, according to paperwork completed by county Election Director Eryn Harvey.

In a related matter, the county has received $109,602 in state reimbursement for the April 2022 special election for state representative in the 116th District.

Council introduced a budget amendment last week that would deposit that $109,602 in the county’s reserve fund.

Sheriff equipment

Council discussed plans last week to earmark at least $357,111 in county American Rescue Plan or capital funds — or a combination of both — to purchase equipment and address other needs in the sheriff’s department.

Council members cut county Sheriff Brian Szumski’s funding request from the 2023 general fund operating budget in December, promising to find other funding sources.

The allocation must cover Tasers, soft body armor, rifle plates, an upgrade of the software system that controls locking mechanisms of many county facilities and the upgrade and/or replacement of magnetic door locking systems, the agenda said.

Existing Tasers and soft body armor have reached their maximum life cycle and must be replaced, Szumski said. Rifle plates are necessary to adequately equip the sheriff and deputies when they respond to emergencies in county facilities or assisting other law enforcement agencies, he said.

Szumski said the funding request may increase due to inflation because the prior budget request was based on prices obtained last year.