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By JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES jandes@leader.net
Thursday, March 20, 2003 Page: 11A
WILKES-BARRE – The unsightly green sheet metal pile along the downtown
Wilkes-Barre stretch of levee someday will be pretty and walkable with ramps,
paths and lights – but not this year.
Luzerne County Engineer Jim Brozena said those aesthetic improvements are
on the back burner until the federal government decides whether it will fund
portal openings and other recreational amenities.
“If we put in a concrete wall now, chances are it would have to be ripped
out, and that would be a waste of money,” Brozena said.
The green sheet metal pile could not be put on hold because it provides
flood protection, which is the main point of the levee, he said.
“To put the city at risk and not build the flood-protection part doesn’t
make sense,” Brozena said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should decide by October whether it will
provide partial funding for the portals and other levee improvements, Brozena
said.
“In the best-case scenario, we will have portals, amphitheaters, landings
and boat launches,” Brozena said.
The worst case:
“The Corps would say the riverfront plan isn’t going to happen, not at
all. In that unlikely event, we would end up with a project similar to what
you’d see in Forty Fort. The concrete wall would look the same, with ramps,
paths and lights,” Brozena said.
County officials are eager for the Corps to buy into the project because it
means the federal government would kick in half of the funding – probably 75
percent for portal work. The county would have to come up with the rest of the
money.
Portals are openings cut into the levee wall to allow people river access
at street level. The openings are closed when flooding is a threat.
The Corps also is considering a boat dock/pier, river landing and stage.
The amphitheater would be between the Market Street Bridge and Northampton
Street. The river landing would be slightly upstream of the Market Street
Bridge.
In making its decision, the Corps weighs the cost, economic benefits,
environmental impact and public support for each amenity.
Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at
831-7333.