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Residents worry about possible bridge collapse

The wet weather is a looming worry for people living along Heslop Road in Rice Township.

LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The rain came down over Little Wapwallopen Creek in Rice Township.

The wet weather is a looming worry for people living along Heslop Road.

There is a gaping hole on the bridge there after it was battered last week by Tropical Storm Ida.

In a flyer, the township told residents with medical conditions to consider staying elsewhere as another storm hit on Wednesday.

The bridge is the only way neighbors can get in and out.

"For all of these people who live back here what do we do for our jobs and work and how do our kids get to school? To me, this is a real concern," said Tammy Cressman, resident.

Right now, the bridge is down to one lane. 

The township was worried the entire bridge could have collapsed in Wednesday evening's storm.

"They basically warned us that there is a good chance that this could all just give way and who knows when we are going to be able to get out? Am I going to be stuck back here for a day? Two days? I mean, that's unacceptable," said Cressman.

On top of all of this, residents are also dealing with flood damage inside their homes.

"My drain outside the basement door either couldn't handle it or backed up and it came back inside the house. I had just put brand new flooring down, literally, the day before. Now my insurance won't cover it because they don't cover flooding," said Cressman.

To everyone's relief, the bridge was still standing Wednesday night. 

It is a county-owned bridge, the township says it is working closely with the county to have it repaired before the next round of storms. 

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