New bridge to somewhere

$1.14M for Wayne from state and federal funds

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - A tiny group of homes on East Tryon Street, with one way in and out, will get a new bridge. Access to local roads can only be reached by this bridge.

“We’ll build one half of the bridge first so that people can still use it and then we’ll build the second section,” said David Osborne, Wayne County consulting engineer from CECO Associates. “We can’t have the people over there with no way in or out.”

The bridge, which is called the Axe Factory Bridge, will cost an estimated $1.14 million. At the site, there once stood an axe factory, which has been closed for many years.

Bids on the new construction will be announced on April 2.

“The current bridge has a weight limit of five tons,” said Wayne County engineer Steve Knash. “A fire truck or most delivery trucks can’t go across the bridge. Also, the condition of the structure continues to deteriorate. You can’t even repair it.”

Construction will begin in the spring and is expected to be completed by spring 2010. The roadway leading to the county bridge is owned by the Honesdale Borough.

Osborne presented the project’s design to the Wayne County Commissioners on February 3.

The commissioners also approved construction of the Kellams Bridge on Pine Mill Road on the border of Manchester and Buckingham townships. The bridge, which will cost an estimated $1.23 million, was washed out by a major flood in June 2006.

“We’re going to replace the two spans with only one span because new technology makes a bigger span possible,” Osborne said. “It will be a hydrologic improvement that will allow the water to flow fully without hitting an abutment,” he said.

“This will cost the county nothing since the two bridges will be paid for by federal and state money,” said Brian Smith, chairman of the commissioners.

The county maintains 42 bridges.