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- MILANVILLE -- The Milanville Bridge was scheduled to close to traffic on Tuesday.
- At a preconstruction conference held on May 15 in Scranton, officials from the Pennsylvania Department Of Transportation (PennDOT), Department of Environmental Resources (DER), National Park Service (NPS), and the B.G. Coon Company of Luzerne discussed repair plans for this summer.
- The bridge repair is unusual, according to PennDOT Assistant Construction Engineer Joe Chilek, became it involves removing and replacing rusted pins which connect the two trusses, while bracing up adjacent beams.
- "We've never done anything with this scope of work," Chilek said, while expressing confidence in the experience of the contractor."
- Chilek said the span will remain closed for the duration of the work through October. He added, however, that the deck probably will be missing only during the late summer. Pedestrians will not lawfully be permitted to use the bridge, but Chilek said, "If they do, they'll do it at their own risk."
- He expressed concern about safety of river recreationists passing under the bridge, and said a river safety plan will be provided to the NPS as soon as it is complete.
- The plan will likely include posting "construction ahead' signs upriver, and directing canoeists to keep to one side or the other. River safety measures will increase the job's cost, Chilet stated, since they were not included in the contract.
- Workers will paint one span while others sandblast and remove rust on the opposite side.
- "[Canoeists] will get the lesser of two evils," Chilet told The River Reporter. "They might get some paint sprayed on them, as opposed to rivets or tools dropped on them."
- DER regulations concerning paint in the river will also be followed. Chilek explained that most of the structure will be handpainted, but "hard to reach places" will be sprayed. Nets will be put in place to catch falling objects.
- According to Angus Ross, NPS management assistant, on a busy day several hundred canoeists pass under the Milanville Bridge, approaching the Skinners Falls rapids. He said that NPS rangers will not issue tickets to pedestrians crossing the closed bridge. "We can't," he explained, "That's not our jurisdiction."
- However, Ross noted that if there is a problem (such as someone fishing from the bridge), local authorities may be notified.
[TRR photo by David Hulse] - Pictured is the intersection near the Pennsylvania end of the Milanville Bridge. Traffic continued to flow across the bridge last Saturday, as crews were busy placing construction signs along the approaches. Construction is scheduled to keep the structure dosed through October.
Related external links
- At a preconstruction conference held on May 15 in Scranton, officials from the Pennsylvania Department Of Transportation (PennDOT), Department of Environmental Resources (DER), National Park Service (NPS), and the B.G. Coon Company of Luzerne discussed repair plans for this summer.
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- Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
- NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
- Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
Thursday, May 29, 1986, p. 1.
Skinner's Falls bridge
See related articles here
closing for repair
By TOM RUE
Effects of time and weather on the bridge structure.