It's one of the most well-known bridges in the Wyoming Valley, the Eighth Street Bridge over the Susquehanna River is a bridge near Wyoming many drivers dislike.
It's narrow. It's rusting. It's a bridge PennDOT gives a two rating on a scale of one to 100.
"I think it's pretty scary. Every time I go over it, I kind of hold my breath," said Roseann Ponzo of West Pittston.
Another bridge certainly isn't as recognizable but it has more than double the traffic of Eighth Street.
It's on River Street in Plains Township, just off the Cross Valley Expressway. This bridge also gets a PennDOT two rating.
"Look, that's even crumbling, whatever it is," said Anna Lahaszow said. She showed us another little-known bridge but a busy one along Lonesome Road in Old Forge. It gets a four out of 100 rating. It's crumbling underneath and a has hole right through it.
Lahaszow lives next to it. "I don't know why they haven't been doing anything about it. I've been in my house 35 years," she said.
"If there's a problem where we determine or feel a bridge isn't safe, we automatically close it. We don't hesitate because we don't want to put the traveling public in danger," said Harold Hill, a PennDOT engineer.
PennDOT said its bridge ratings don't dictate how safe they are. It's meant to determine which ones need to be replaced or repaired first.
It doesn't mean that if you have a sufficiency rating of two that the bridge should be closed or it's in bad shape. It does need a lot of work to it.
There are a lot of considerations that go into deciding how and when to redo bridges.
Money is one of the biggest but the Harrison Avenue bridge in Scranton is an example of just some of the other issues. It only has a two rating out of 100 but it's historic and a key artery in the city.
"It's the only way to get through to the south side, though. They'd have to find a better way," said Sally Rempo of Scranton. She is one that knows closing the bridge for major repairs is a nightmare, something PennDOT considers.
"It's bad, but there's no other alternative, really," Rempo added.
All four bridges we focused on are scheduled to be repaired or replaced.
Construction on the Eighth Street Bridge is supposed to begin in early 2009. Work on North River Street is planned for late 2009, Harrison Avenue in late 2011 and Lonesome Road in late 2011.
Until then, PennDOT said it will keep an eye on them, making sure they're safe.
It's narrow. It's rusting. It's a bridge PennDOT gives a two rating on a scale of one to 100.
"I think it's pretty scary. Every time I go over it, I kind of hold my breath," said Roseann Ponzo of West Pittston.
Another bridge certainly isn't as recognizable but it has more than double the traffic of Eighth Street.
It's on River Street in Plains Township, just off the Cross Valley Expressway. This bridge also gets a PennDOT two rating.
"Look, that's even crumbling, whatever it is," said Anna Lahaszow said. She showed us another little-known bridge but a busy one along Lonesome Road in Old Forge. It gets a four out of 100 rating. It's crumbling underneath and a has hole right through it.
Lahaszow lives next to it. "I don't know why they haven't been doing anything about it. I've been in my house 35 years," she said.
"If there's a problem where we determine or feel a bridge isn't safe, we automatically close it. We don't hesitate because we don't want to put the traveling public in danger," said Harold Hill, a PennDOT engineer.
PennDOT said its bridge ratings don't dictate how safe they are. It's meant to determine which ones need to be replaced or repaired first.
It doesn't mean that if you have a sufficiency rating of two that the bridge should be closed or it's in bad shape. It does need a lot of work to it.
There are a lot of considerations that go into deciding how and when to redo bridges.
Money is one of the biggest but the Harrison Avenue bridge in Scranton is an example of just some of the other issues. It only has a two rating out of 100 but it's historic and a key artery in the city.
"It's the only way to get through to the south side, though. They'd have to find a better way," said Sally Rempo of Scranton. She is one that knows closing the bridge for major repairs is a nightmare, something PennDOT considers.
"It's bad, but there's no other alternative, really," Rempo added.
All four bridges we focused on are scheduled to be repaired or replaced.
Construction on the Eighth Street Bridge is supposed to begin in early 2009. Work on North River Street is planned for late 2009, Harrison Avenue in late 2011 and Lonesome Road in late 2011.
Until then, PennDOT said it will keep an eye on them, making sure they're safe.
