Reconnecting Walnut Street Bridge would be too expensive, study says
By KARI ANDREN, The Patriot-News
February 25, 2010, 10:16AM
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind...study_doe.html
The western span of the Walnut Street Bridge on Thursday, February 25, 2010. ANN FOSTER, The Patriot-News
Reconnecting the western span of the Walnut Street Bridge could be too expensive and is not recommended, according to a study released today by Delta Development Group Inc. for the Redevelopment Authority of Cumberland County.
Read the report from Delta Development.
There's a 525-foot gap in the walking bridge that used to connect Harrisburg and Wormleysburg because three spans were washed out by ice and flooding in January 1996.
The study evaluated using a span of the Pond Eddy Bridge in Pike County or building new spans to fill the gap. Both options would cost more than $13 million.
Instead, the study recommends two things: 1. Dismantling and storing the piece of the Pond Eddy Bridge so that it could be used in the future. 2. Restoring the spans and pier of the bridge that remain along the West Shore to create a fishing pier or observation deck.
The estimated cost for the combination of those two recommendations is slightly more than $2.3 million, with some funding coming from the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT. An additional $729,200 would still be needed.