web1_JOHN-FETTERMAN.jpg

Lt. Gov. Fetterman’s legalization listening tour stops in WB Sunday

web1_handcuffs.jpg

Six nabbed in separate drug sweeps

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; For bridge projects, rehabbing the one on Strauss Lane is moving fast in Butch Frati&#8217;s opinion.</p><p>Frati, the director of operations for the city of Wilkes-Barre, announced the award of a $250,000 grant through the state&#8217;s Multimodal Transportation Fund program to fix the 44-year-old span in the Goose Island neighborhood that&#8217;s been closed for almost a year.</p><p>Rehabilitating was the operative word, because if it was to be replaced that could take between 10 to 12 years, Frati told the small group gathered for a public meeting Wednesday afternoon on the project.</p><p><ins>&#8220;Rehabbing the bridge, we can do now. The engineering is about ready. For all intents and purposes, it&#8217;s ready to go. Hopefully in the next two months, it&#8217;ll be bid and construction can start shortly thereafter,&#8221; Frati said. </ins></p><p>If everything falls into place the project could be completed late this year or early next year, Frati said.</p><p>The city applied for the grant last year. It agreed to put up a match of approximately $150,000 that will come out of the Liquid Fuels Fund that can be used for road and bridge projects.</p><p>A dive team inspecting the bridge uncovered a major problem that prompted its shutdown, Frati said.</p><p>Essentially what&#8217;s happened is Solomon Creek undermined the bridge abutments, the walls that hold up the concrete beams, explained Dominic Yannuzzi, an engineer and project manager in Alfred Benesch &amp; Co.&#8217;s Hazleton office.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re being eroded by the water underneath and we&#8217;re going to grout and concrete underneath the abutments to prevent any issues from that,&#8221; Yannuzzi said.</p><p>In addition the deck will be waterproofed and repaved, he said.</p><p><ins>&#8220;It takes a lot of abuse because Solomon Creek is such a volatile creek elevation wise,&#8221; Frati said. </ins></p><p><ins>Mayor Tony George, who attended the meeting, added that a sewer line creates a waterfall that &#8220;eats everything away&#8221; underneath. </ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;Won&#8217;t that continue to happen unless that&#8217;s remedied?&#8221; asked Ed Hilla, a Poplar Street resident affected by the bridge closure. </ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;Hopefully the remedy will fix that,&#8221; George replied. </ins></p><p>Yannuzzi said the fix will stabilize the structure and prevent further erosion. To replace the sewer line would take more money than what&#8217;s available, he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Strauss-Lane-Bridge.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">City officials Wednesday announced the award of a $250,000 state grant that will help pay to rehab the Strauss Lane bridge that's been closed for almost a year. Attending a public meeting were from left to right, City Administrator Rick Gazenski, Director of Operations Butch Frati, Mayor Tony George and Dominic Yannuzzi, project manager with Alfred Benesch & Co.    Jerry Lynott | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Strauss-Lane-Bridge.jpg</photo0><caption0>City officials Wednesday announced the award of a $250,000 state grant that will help pay to rehab the Strauss Lane bridge that's been closed for almost a year. Attending a public meeting were from left to right, City Administrator Rick Gazenski, Director of Operations Butch Frati, Mayor Tony George and Dominic Yannuzzi, project manager with Alfred Benesch & Co.    Jerry Lynott | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></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>

Strauss Lane bridge in Wilkes-Barre ready for rehab