EXETER, Pa. — It's an issue residents have been telling Newswatch 16 about for months.
Since the Firemen's Memorial Bridge, also known as the Water Street Bridge, shut down after a failed inspection, they say rush hour in Pittston and West Pittston has been a nightmare.
On Wednesday, residents let local, county, and state officials hear about it.
Pittston and West Pittston are dealing with aging bridges.
The Firemen's Memorial, or Water Street, bridge opened in 1914.
The Fort Jenkins Bridge, now known as the Dale J. Kridlo memorial bridge, was built in 1925.
When the Water Street Bridge was open, drivers coming from West Pittston could take Luzerne Avenue, crossing over to Kennedy Boulevard in Pittston.
Likewise, drivers traveling on South Main Street in Pittston could turn onto Water Street and cross the River, helping traffic flow on both Route 11 in West Pittston and North Main Street in Pittston.
But after failing inspection, the bridge closed, and all that traffic was forced to the Kridlo Bridge, leading to backups.
"I get over there, but it's still congested," said Carl Ruschel of West Pittston. "If you go over there at certain times of the day, sometimes the traffic is terrible."
"The population, the way people travel, is a lot different today, and we have to be up to the times," added Ann Zak of Wyoming.
Some 20,000 vehicles cross the Susquehanna here every day.
For the last year, the engineering firm McTish, Kunkel & Associates has been studying the flow of traffic and devising a plan to address the problem.
"They looked through Pittston, West Pittston, all the traffic routes and tried to decide what's the best option to move forward with," said Susan Williams, PennDOT civil engineer supervisor.
Hundreds attended a meeting in Exeter to hear all the possible solutions laid out; replace, rehabilitate or remove.
Project Manager Tim Benner said the best solutions involve keeping the two bridges and replacing or repairing one or both, possibly adding more lanes and sidewalks.
That project would cost upwards of $40 million.
Every project proposal adds a traffic light on the West Pittson side of the Dale J. Kridlo Memorial Bridge.
Residents had mixed responses, questioning Benner for more than a half-hour and making suggestions.
There was one response everyone could agree upon.
"Do not put in traffic circles," said one attendee.
A lot more discussion needs to happen before any decisions are made. Officials said a big reason for the meeting was to get feedback from the community. Many residents filled out paper forms with their thoughts.
PennDOT spokesperson tells Newswatch 16 that any proposed options could take up to five years to complete.
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