To address erosion near the levee in Wilkes-Barre, contractors are establishing a berm at the base of the embankment that will be filled with rock.
Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
A view of the erosion correction project looking down from the Wyoming Valley Levee wall in Wilkes-Barre, with Norfolk Southern Railway’s Black Diamond Bridge to the left.
Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
A project to stop erosion near the Wyoming Valley Levee wall in Wilkes-Barre is on schedule, Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority Executive Director Laura Holbrook said after Tuesday’s board meeting.
The authority, which oversees the levee, expects the project will be completed in six weeks, Holbrook said.
Soil and rock have been sliding downhill along the Susquehanna River near Norfolk Southern Railway’s Black Diamond Bridge, threatening the levee. The $650,150 project now underway is replacing embankment dirt with large stone rip-rap to restore stability and ensure the levee is not compromised.
Contractors are currently establishing a berm at the base of the embankment and will then work upward to “reestablish the slope,” Holbrook said.
Public access to that portion of the path atop the levee has been blocked and will remain closed until the project is completed.
A flood gate has been installed to block the levee’s public access opening near the intersection of Locust Street and Riverside Drive, and closure signs and netting were set up on the other end of the closed section off Gordon Avenue in the Barney Farms neighborhood, Holbrook has said.
Granville Summit, Pennsylvania-based DGR Excavating LLC is completing the project.
Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown issued a release thanking the authority for its dedication to the project.
Brown also thanked residents for their patience “while the construction brings temporary disruption to their neighborhood.”
“Ultimately, the project will better protect homes and the South Wilkes-Barre community,” Brown wrote.
The 16-mile flood control system protects about 14,200 properties in parts of Exeter, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Forty Fort, Luzerne, Pringle, Edwardsville, Plymouth, Swoyersville, Kingston, Hanover Township, and Wilkes-Barre.
Brown noted the levee system safeguards more than 100,000 residents and has prevented an estimated $7.5 billion in flood damages since 1968.
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Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.