McLaughlin Run Bridge Work Continues on Schedule

The McLaughlin Run Road bridge is gone and now replaced with a muddy construction zone full of workers and heavy machinery.

and traffic has been diverted around multiple detours in the area. PennDOT officials said the construction project is on schedule and should be completed by early November.

PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi said one bridge abutment is finished and crews are backfilling around it to stabilize the foundation. Work on the other side will begin shortly, Struzzi said.

Before work on the bridge could begin, because the new span will be wider.

“The project is progressing well and while the work is occurring,” Struzzi said.

There also will be a pedestrian bridge installed farther down McLaughlin Run leading to the park. Council said during its Monday night monthly meeting that the bridge is being donated to the township and will only need to be constructed and placed on over the creek. The borough is working to see if it owns the right-of-way in the area.

Also during the meeting…

• Bob Wagner told the council that he is concerned deed research done by the borough has accidentally taken part of his mother’s property on McMillen Street, part of which is to be used for the new library’s driveway. He said he has documentation that shows the borough is intruding on part of her land and he wanted to make the council members aware of the potential problem. “I just want this to be heard so I don’t have to dive in front of a bulldozer to protect my property,” Wagner said. Council President Nino Petrocelli suggested he get a new survey done so he could use it as evidence if the borough is wrong in its findings. Solicitor Richard Ferris added that some surveys have different results. “This is what we’re going to review,” Ferris said. “No one is going to take your property.”

• Robert Eckles said he is concerned that there is not a four-way stop at Dewey Avenue and McMillen Street. He pointed to a rollover crash last month in which the vehicle struck two other cars parked on the road. “I believe this was a wake-up call for all of us,” Eckles said. “When I see a car on its roof, that’s telling me something.” Council recently asked the borough police chief and an engineering consultant to conduct a study on the area, both of whom determined a four-way stop is not needed even with the added traffic coming from the new library. Police Chief Chad King added that the driver involved in the crash had a blood-alcohol more than three times the legal limit to drive a vehicle. “A stop sign wasn’t going to stop her,” King said.

• Councilman Michael Chiodo wants the borough to address problems with recreation vehicles being stored on the street. He said the on-street parking ordinance needs more teeth so officers can enforce violators.

• The borough’s application for a county grant to replace the stone barrier on Bower Hill Road next to McLaughlin Run was denied. Council now plans to look elsewhere for grant money.