Luzerne County Council may fund plan addressing congestion from Pittston bridge closure

Luzerne County Council has been asked to fund traffic flow improvements in Pittston and West Pittston to alleviate congestion until the state replaces the county-owned Firefighters’ Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River, officials said last week.

Tom Reilly, president of Reilly Associates in Pittston, presented a proposal to council during its public work session last week, saying he is representing the municipalities impacted by closure of the county span commonly known as the Water Street Bridge.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had denied the county’s proposed reopening of its bridge at a reduced weight limit. The crossing linking West Pittston and Pittston has been closed since August 2021 due to concerns over a bent eyebar, causing traffic on the nearby state-owned Spc. Dale J. Kridlo Bridge (Fort Jenkins) to increase from 12,000 vehicles to 20,000 per day, officials have said.

The state agreed to assume responsibility for the design and construction to replace both spans, but completion will take years, officials said.

Reilly said the state is pursuing additional funding and may accelerate design, with the bridge replacement currently set to be bid out in 2026. Construction will take two or three years, he said.

“It has been a long detour already with Water Street closed, and it’s going to be the rest of this decade,” Reilly told council.

When it became clear Water Street would not be temporarily reopening, Reilly said he met with the county administration to discuss completion of a traffic analysis in West Pittston and Pittston. That data could then be used to optimize traffic signals to accommodate traffic pattern changes caused by the bridge closure, he said.

For example, he said there is now a “big backup on Route 92 and Exeter Avenue.”

A temporary signal may be proposed, he said.

Still frustrated over the state’s denial of the temporary Water Street reopening, Council members Kevin Lescavage and Brian Thornton said they believes the state should pay for the traffic study and temporary fixes.

A cost of $275,000 was mentioned. Reilly said that is a gross amount that would include the temporary signal costs.

Thornton said traffic around the Fort Jenkins Bridge is unsafe and “a nightmare” because it must accommodate vehicles from multiple roads. He added that Pittston and West Pittston don’t have the funds to cover a traffic study and solutions.

Council Chairwoman Kendra Vough said she shares his frustration. County residents are impacted, and municipalities cannot pay, she said.

“Here’s where we’re at. Should the county pay for it? No. Does it need to be done so that it’s safe? Yes. So we’re kind of between a rock and hard place,” Vough said.

A map highlighting possible traffic signal improvement areas was publicly posted as an attachment to council’s May 23 agenda at luzernecounty.org.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo, who started work last Thursday, said she is in the process of reviewing information submitted by Reilly Associates and will be working to obtain any additional details or answers council needs to reach a decision.

Council’s next meeting is June 13.

In a related issue, the county is seeking bids to install fencing around the Water Street Bridge, with responses due June 8, according to a posting on the purchasing page at luzernecounty.org.

The project is intended to prevent pedestrian and vehicular access to the bridge, it said. Chain link security fencing must be installed at the approach to the bridge on both sides. It must include overhangs at the junctures of walkway gates and bridge railings to prevent the public from climbing around, the posting says.