The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) recently launched a website to aid public tracking bridge replacement efforts in the wake of initiating preliminary design for the Scranton Local Bridges Project.
Officials said bridges at Elm Street, North Main Avenue, Parker Street, and West Lackawanna Avenue are slated for replacement. The website can be viewed by visiting PennDOT’s District 4 website and clicking on Construction Projects and Roadwork.
“The ability for the public to track the progress of each bridge project through the PennDOT website is a welcome resource and one that we hope citizens will use to keep updated and also learn about the complexity of large infrastructure projects,” Mayor Paige Cognetti said. “Replacing these four bridges will not only improve Scranton’s critical infrastructure, it will create jobs and improve quality of life for residents.”
PennDOT Project Manager Jennifer Borino said the department would be on-site during the spring and summer to complete surveys, in-depth bridge inspections, and traffic counts.
“We will use this information to evaluate environmental constraints, develop preliminary plans, and determine an appropriate means to maintain and protect traffic during construction,” she said.
PennDOT is currently evaluating each bridge to determine the appropriate work required during construction. At the same time, the preliminary design phase will continue for approximately 18 months, and the website will be updated regularly.
Upon completion of the evaluations and preliminary designs, PennDOT said it would schedule a public officials’ briefing and a public meeting late this year. When construction on the four bridges begins in 2024, website updates will become more frequent.