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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It could take almost five years before the North Washington Street bridge is rebuilt under the long-range forecast an engineer presented for the project.</p><p>The span might be completed sooner than 2023. But Dominic Yannuzzi, project manager with Alfred Benesch &amp; Co.&#8217;s Hazleton office, made no promises it would be done sooner during a public meeting Wednesday on the bridge replacement.</p><p>&#8221;Worst case scenario, the bridge would take 18 months for preliminary design, 18 months for final design and 18 months for construction,&#8221; Yannuzzi informed the audience of approximately 20 people at the Hollenback Golf Course clubhouse.</p><p>The steel girder bridge over an active railroad line in the city&#8217;s North End neighborhood has been closed since October 2013 when it was declared structurally unsafe. Motorists and pedestrians have since been inconvenienced with a detour set up on one of the main arteries in the city and residents have seen increased traffic on side streets.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re directly negatively impacted,&#8221; said Johnson Street resident Monica Spishock. Traffic is heavy on the narrow street that&#8217;s used by semi-trailers, she said. &#8220;It almost rivals the Cross Valley.&#8221;</p><p>Yanuzzi assured residents the funding is in place for a complete reconstruction estimated to cost $2 million. The next step is to receive a notice to proceed from PennDOT to authorize the release of funds to begin the design process and hopefully that will happen in January, Yannuzzi said.</p><p>The federal government will cover 80 percent of the cost with the rest coming from either the state or city or the pair sharing the 20 percent contribution.</p><p>Even though residents and city officials look at the bridge replacement as a priority, PennDOT might have other projects ahead of it, said Butch Frati, the city&#8217;s director of operations.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re competing all the time for this,&#8221; Frati said.</p><p>City councilman Mike Merritt, whose district includes the bridge, said the closure has put residents in danger especially when it pertains to emergency services.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been lucky, but luck runs out,&#8221; said Merritt.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">It could take until 2023 to design and build a new bridge on North Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre to replace the one that&#8217;s been closed since 2013, an engineer for the project said during a public meeting Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL030118NWashingtonBridge1.jpg</photo0><caption0>It could take until 2023 to design and build a new bridge on North Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre to replace the one that&#8217;s been closed since 2013, an engineer for the project said during a public meeting Wednesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

North Washington Street bridge replacement in Wilkes-Barre still years away