Bushkill Creek bridge replacement project delayed another month

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Long-delayed work on the bridge over the Bushkill Creek between Tatamy and Forks Township has been held up again.

This time the delay is due to permits needed to move a gas line and an easement agreement with a property owner.

The bridge, which connects Tatamy’s Main Street to Forks Township’s Uhler Road, has been in the works for at least 20 years, according to Tatamy Mayor Luke Duignam.

The mayor has said the bridge was damaged by heavy use of trucks and tractor-trailers from a nearby quarry and concrete company. Supports weakened and holes developed in the asphalt.

The bridge got so bad it was closed to traffic in May. Work to demolish the bridge to make way for its replacement was supposed to start in July, but now it’s not slated to start until late this month or October, said Greg DeNardo, president of Bi-State Construction in Easton.

DeNardo said UGI Utilities is waiting to receive a stream-crossing permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection to move the gas line off the deck of the bridge.

Daniel Adamo, business development director for the East Region for UGI, said the permit was filed with the DEP in July and he expects up to a three-month turnaround for approval. After the permit is received, it will take two to three weeks to move the line, Adamo said.

“We just don’t know what to expect,” Duignam said recently. “We’re thinking by the end of the month they should have it all cleared up. What’s holding it up is the gas line and it should have been out of there and moved, but it never was accomplished.”

The relocated gas main will be directionally drilled on the north side of the bridge and under the Bushkill Creek, DeNardo said.

The $2.7 million bridge replacement project is supposed to take 18 months, according to the state Transportation Department. PennDOT spokesman Ron Young said the new bridge remains slated to be completed by fall 2012.

So far, only three of the four property owners at each corner of the bridge have signed a right-of-way agreement for work to begin.

Gary Ickowicz, of New York, who owns the Equipto property, is the holdout. He is seeking an independent appraisal. After the land is appraised, there will be a 45-day process with the state to reconcile the paperwork and issue a check to pay the property owners.

“Until we can get that, we can’t go forward,” DeNardo said.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2011/09/paperwork_delays_bushkill_cree.html