Now that the state awarded $10 million toward the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge, Luzerne County must follow state procedures to advance the project, county Manager Romilda Crocamo told council Monday.
Those steps include seeking an engineering firm to provide three options that consider rehabilitation, replacement and preservation of the county-owned span over the Susquehanna River, she said. The engineering solicitation will be posted through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Electronic Construction Management System, she said.
Prior to Crocamo’s hiring last year, the administration had authorized payment of up to $631,900 to Alfred Benesch and Associates to examine the bridge and recommend the “best and most economical option.”
But Crocamo, who announced the state award in April, said she was informed fresh analysis must be completed through state protocols.
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 an estimated $63 million with the expense of tearing down the current bridge factored in. A third option to mostly rehabilitate the existing span would cost $47.8 million and was not supported by Benesch or council.
Crocamo said a new analysis could yield additional options not yet considered — namely tearing down the existing span and building a new one on the same footprint.
The option to build a new one to the west largely stemmed from a desire to keep the current bridge operational during construction, but there are caveats to that scenario. Millions of dollars in repairs could be necessary to keep the current bridge open, and the span was downgraded to a 5-ton weight limit in May.
Crocamo’s Monday communication said the $10 million in state funding was awarded through PennDOT’s Transportation Improvement Plan, or…
