Board to decide fate of Idlewood bridge

After years of discussion, Scott commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday on what to do about the Idlewood Avenue Bridge, which was closed this month because of concerns about its safety.

The bridge crosses Whiskey Run off Duncan and Idlewood avenues in the township’s East Carnegie neighborhood.

An inspection done last month by McTish, Kunkel and Associates, an engineering firm contracted by the state, resulted in a recommendation that the bridge should be torn down.

On a scale of 0-9, the state Department of Transportation rated the bridge a 0.

“This was just negligence,” Commissioner David Calabria, an engineer, said last week. “This bridge should have been inspected every two years.”

Officials had thought the bridge was 80 years old, but the inspectors estimated that it was built in the 1920s.

The township must decide whether to tear down the bridge and build a replacement at the same site or use that location for something else. A proposal to turn the area into a park has been mentioned.

The estimated cost of removing and rebuilding the bridge was $1.2 million, but then township engineer Larry Lennon learned about using a box culvert structure, which would cost about $600,000. A concrete box culvert has a simpler design that makes for quicker and easier construction.

If the bridge replacement is placed on the state’s transportation improvement plan, Scott would have to pay only 5 percent of the cost, Commissioner Bill Wells said. However, he added, the construction time would be out of the township’s control.

As for the proposed park, the township has paid to remove two blighted homes to makewayforapark.However, a nearby business owner now wants to buy the site for a parking lot and truck turnaround, which would mean the park wouldnotbedeveloped.