Dallas City News

Under current estimates, the Luzerne County-owned Water Street Bridge linking Pittston and West Pittston will be torn down in the summer of 2026, according to a timeline county Manager Romilda Crocamo sent to council Monday.

Officially named the Firefighters’ Memorial Bridge, the span closed in August 2021 due to concerns over a bent eyebar.

Construction of a new replacement bridge is projected to start in spring 2027, said the update provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Traffic on the nearby state-owned Spc. Dale J. Kridlo Bridge (Fort Jenkins) has increased dramatically since the county bridge closure. The state agreed to assume responsibility for the design and construction to replace both bridges but had cautioned completion will take years.

The summer 2026 Water Street bridge removal is contingent on relocation of a UGI gas line carried by the bridge, the update said.

Pittston gas service is fed from this line. UGI plans to upgrade gas service to Pittston, build a substation and remove the need for a line across the river, the update said. Completion of gas line work is planned for early 2026 based on the most recent meeting held with UGI in January, it said.

A public meeting to provide bridge project updates is planned for May, it said.

Some other updates on the Water Street project:

• A required environmental document known as a “categorical exclusion level 2” is targeted for approval this summer.

• Preliminary design submissions are underway, including plans for the bridge and retaining wall designs, waterway permitting and traffic signals.

• Geotechnical borings are scheduled for completion this summer.

• Final design should begin this fall, including permitting, structure plans, right-of-way acquisition, traffic signal plans and utility coordination.

Council had unanimously voted last October to fund the $106,508 design of temporary traffic improvements intended to reduce congestion in West Pittston and Pittston caused by closure of the county crossing.

The county is only paying for the design of temporary traffic alterations aimed at improving public safety and decreasing congestion because the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has agreed to fund the recommended enhancements, officials have said.

According to Monday’s update, the recommendations include a temporary traffic signal at state Routes 11 and 92.

Reilly Associates in Pittston has prepared temporary signal plans and submitted them to PennDOT for review on March 1.

Built in 1914, the Water Street span was last rehabilitated in 1984 and is not designed for today’s traffic loads, a state transportation consultant has said. It would cost $20.5 million to replace the Water Street bridge and $22.5 million to repair it to continue with a 20-ton limit, the state consultant said.

Under the county’s agreement with the state, the county will only pay 5% toward the cost of demolishing and replacing its bridge, with the rest coming from state and federal funding.

Last year the county installed chain link security fencing around the Water Street Bridge to prevent pedestrian and vehicle access.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.