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 Post subject: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:22 am 

Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 1:21 pm
Posts: 486
Location: Columbus, OH
In October, demolition began on the Lehigh Valley bridge over the Susquehanna River in Coxton, PA. This long abandoned bridge has been the subject of much local debate about the precarious state of its piers and fears it would fall into the river, and the lack of action by its owner, a local tow truck operator now in prison on fraud charges. According to the article it would take about a month to dismantle so I expect it is gone by now.

http://wnep.com/2017/10/10/old-railroad-bridge-being-demolished/

The bridge is (was) immediately adjacent to the remains of the Coxton/Duryea roundhouse and coal tower which are similarly in very poor condition.

At $800,000 of taxpayer money to remove the bridge, it seems as though the piers could have been repaired for much less and the structure made an extension to the Back Mountain Rail Trail currently ending in Luzerne, PA, just 8 miles down the same Lehigh Valley line that begun at the Coxton bridge. But, I supposed that would require too much vision for the future.

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 Post subject: Re: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:28 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:51 pm
Posts: 11482
Location: Somewhere east of Prescott, AZ along the old Santa Fe "Prescott & Eastern"
As someone who saw the engineering to repair a similarly collapsed pier on a Susquehanna River railroad bridge in his hometown without having to realign tilted trusses, I will gladly take a bet that you're wrong about the potential cost. Further, remember that you're also having to pay to make the bridge "idiot-proof" against jumpers, put down a new deck, etc. if you put in a trail.

I'm not fond of the idea of taking out the bridge either, but given that area's notorious history with floods, I kind of have to make peace with "we can't save 'em all."


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 Post subject: Re: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:10 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:54 pm
Posts: 2367
*


Last edited by superheater on Mon Jan 24, 2022 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:39 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm
Posts: 1182
Supe,

How could you forget U.S. Representative Daniel J. Flood? Check out his fingerprints all over Interstate 81, among others.

G.W.


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 Post subject: Re: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:35 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:51 pm
Posts: 11482
Location: Somewhere east of Prescott, AZ along the old Santa Fe "Prescott & Eastern"
.......*cough* Rep. Joseph Mcdade, champion of Steamtown *coughcough*.....


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 Post subject: Re: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:40 am 

Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2004 2:35 pm
Posts: 406
Location: NJ
I can see the $800,000 price as reasonable. The work included building a causeway to the structure, removal of the bridge and I believe full removal of the bridge piers.

Railroad ties also need to be disposed of properly.

I believe the former Coxton yard is totally off limits to the public, at least it used to be.

Rebuilding it as part of a trail system would have been a multi million dollar endeavor.

Also seems to be another railroad bridge about a half mile south that also sits unused or rarely used. It goes between Upper Pittston and West Pittston.

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 Post subject: Re: Coxton, PA Lehigh Valley bridge dismantled
PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:51 am 

Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 10:42 am
Posts: 313
Location: Wyoming, DE
Hello,

In listening to the report, they discussed salvage all the steel.....obviously......consider the value of the cut stone on the piers (assuming they are stone)....the shear effort to cut them into blocks for structural use and to set them is staggering, to me as significant as the steel work.....will likely go to fill or erosion control...

Today such use of materials and labor would obvious be considered wasteful and insane.

Regards,

Randy


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