Luzerne County warning: stay off Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge

Criminal charges will be filed against anyone caught vandalizing or trespassing on the closed Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge over the Susquehanna River, Luzerne County officials warned Thursday.

The warning was prompted by the latest discovery that someone cut security fencing near the county-owned bridge and entered the crossing, a Thursday release said.

At least four times over the past few weeks, the fence installed to block access at both ends of the bridge has been cut, and people have been spotted walking across it, the release said.

The county was forced to hire a contractor “at significant expense” to repair the fencing after each incident, it said.

County officials are working with the Nanticoke Police Department, attempting to identify suspects. The county has also asked police to increase patrols near the bridge and is urging anyone who may have information about the damage to contact city police at 570-735-4000.

The county has also determined that surveillance cameras are necessary near the span to monitor the bridge and “capture these acts of vandalism,” it said. The cameras will be installed over the next few weeks.

“This has to stop. It is a danger to the people who trespass on the bridge, and it is causing thousands of dollars in damages that the county — and ultimately, the taxpayers — must pay for,” County Manager Romilda Crocamo said in the release, which described her as “extremely frustrated.”

“We are in the process of preparing a plan for the bridge’s future, and having someone damage the fencing, which is needed for safety, only diverts attention away from that plan,” Crocamo said.

Crocamo announced the latest fence-cutting during her Tuesday night town hall in Exeter.

Nobody should be on the bridge because it “could collapse by its own weight” at any point, she told the town hall attendees.

Crocamo closed the bridge linking Nanticoke and the West Nanticoke section of Plymouth Township a year ago after engineers performing an inspection found further deterioration and section loss of primary, load-carrying components.

The county has retained Modjeski and Masters Inc. to proceed with the preliminary design phase of the bridge project, which is expected to take two years.

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. Because federal funding is involved, the engineer must first develop three options for the bridge, officials said.