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DCNR and community tour Kinzua Bridge site
Decked out in hardhat, safety goggles and heavy-duty work boots, the DCNR deputy secretary strained to hear advice from his driver. Amid the drone of diesel engine, the clank of steel tread, and the squish of mud, from the cab came words of caution:
“Uh, gentlemen, when we hit the really steep stretch, you’re gonna hear a warning beeper blaring up here,” the ironworker shouted to four guests in the rear bed of his monster, construction-grade ATV. “It’ll stop when we hit level ground. Don’t worry, everything’s OK.”
For Richard G. Sprenkle, DCNR’s Deputy Secretary for Conservation and Engineering Services, the ride down the steep mountainside was, indeed, “OK.” What he found at the bottom was not.
Piles of accumulating, rusted steel scale; gaping holes in support structures; roller bearings that no longer roll; and crumbling concrete. All part of what some 30 men and women around Sprenkle were working feverishly to repair. All part of deterioration that forced the closing of historic Kinzua Bridge in McKean County.
“You can climb up into any one of these support columns and find pretty much the exact same problems. One’s just as bad as the other,” said Sprenkle’s guide, Brian D. Emberg, vice president of Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. and Raudenbush Engineering, Inc. (HRG/REI), a joint venture engineering team overseeing repairs.
They were joined in their May 8 inspection by DCNR Bureau of Facility Design and Construction Director Eugene J. Comoss.
Emberg earlier had led a less-intense inspection of the repair project that has gone on non-stop since mid-February. This time, asking questions and getting answers were some 30 area business and civic leaders. They were guests of HRG/REI at a picnic lunch, tour of the construction site, and question-and-answer session with project officials.
Sprenkle told the group he and others were fully cognizant of the span’s value to the area’s economy. He pledged full support for expedient repairs and reopening, and suggested the park might be able to accommodate visitors interested in viewing repair work.
Emberg said it was not until he and other HRG/REI officials donned safety harnesses and dropped down into the depths of the span’s understructure that the full extent of bridge deterioration was known. Emergency repair costs have roughly doubled, he said, from the original $3.9 million estimate.
Emergency contractor George Brode of W.M. Brode Co. said his work force prides itself on hard work that is done right. It is an ethic that has seen the Newcomerstown, Ohio, firm span 100 years, and gain a reputation as a national leader in railroad bridge construction and repair, he said.
From the listeners came some comments of their own:
Smethport Borough Manager Patty Witchen wanted to know what area residents could do to assure funding of complete repairs;
Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau, pointed out tourists from around the world come to view spectacular autumn foliage from the span, as well as see an internationally recognized landmark;
Innkeeper Jay D. Roush noted many of those visitors stay at his Port Allegany bed and breakfast, The Inn on Maple Street.
DCNR announced the closing of the 2,053-foot-long viaduct to pedestrian and rail traffic in the summer of 2002, after regular inspections showed severe rusting and deterioration within the span’s steel understructure.
Two full-time crews, at times numbering more than 30 workers, are assigned to the bridge work, which will entail repairs to the bottom struts of the towers, the tower legs and their lacings, and replacement of gusset brackets.
Funding for the emergency repairs is being provided from PENNDOT, the state’s capital budget, and DCNR. Kinzua Bridge State Park remains open to all visitors while work is being conducted. Visitors still can photograph and view the viaduct from the observation deck adjacent to the bridge.
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