Luzerne County receives commitment of $10 million toward the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge project

Luzerne County received a commitment of $10 million toward the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge project Tuesday.

The allocation for structure work — $5 million in 2029 and $5 million in 2031 — was approved during a committee meeting of the Lackawanna Luzerne Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization, which determines how federal and state highway/bridge funds are allocated.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo made a presentation about the county-owned span over the Susquehanna River before Tuesday’s allocation vote at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca. Also speaking in favor of funding was Dominic Yannuzzi, of Alfred Benesch and Associates, which was hired by the county to determine the “best and most economical option.”

Crocamo publicly announced the allocation during Tuesday’s council meeting.

“We did it — $10 million today to add to the funds,” she said, prompting applause from council members and those in attendance.

She promised to continue seeking additional funds and said an update will be sent to council Wednesday “about the status of the bridge process.”

Prior to the new award, the county had access to $55 million from casino gambling revenue for the bridge project. Some council members have stressed the county promised to tackle other county road/bridge projects if funding was left in this casino gambling infrastructure pot.

Benesch originally recommended largely replacing the existing bridge for an estimated $40.5 million but later advocated construction of a new bridge to the west, which would cost $53.6 million. This replacement calculation does not include the expense of tearing down the existing span (estimate $9.5 million) and millions of dollars in repairs that could be necessary to keep the current bridge open while a new one is constructed.

During her Tuesday presentation, Crocamo told the MPO the county is in the process of considering options because the bridge has “serious fatigue concerns” and already has been downgraded to a 15-ton weight limit, with further reductions possible due to regular required six-month inspections, including one now pending completion.

Constructed in 1914, the bridge was last rehabilitated in 1987.

She paused in a slide show photo of a rusted section of the bridge, saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Crocamo then cited a quote attributed to National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy after the January 2022 collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh that the “catastrophe must serve as a wake-up call that we cannot take our infrastructure for granted.”

”Only through diligent attention to inspection, maintenance, and repair can we ensure the roads, bridges, and tunnels we all traverse every day are safe for the traveling public. Lives depend on it,” she quoted Homendy as saying.

Crocamo said county and local emergency first responders, including Nanticoke Fire Chief Mark Boncal, have identified the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge as a critical public safety project that saves lives and reduces homeowner insurance costs.

“Ignoring the wake-up call from the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse and not fully addressing the West Nanticoke Bridge — Luzerne County’s largest infrastructure liability — will be catastrophic from a public safety standpoint,” Crocamo said.

Approximately 6,369 vehicles cross the bridge each day, including 500 trucks, she said. More than 10,100 residents and 4,478 households are within a five-minute drive of the bridge. There are also 291 businesses with 2,684 employees within a five-minute drive.

Her presentation included a map showing thousands of acres of Newport Township land zoned as mining that could be developed, saying the bridge project is the “key.”