Pennsylvania railroad bridge torn down

Demolition of a Pennsylvania railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River began Oct. 10, a report by The Citizens’ Voice says. The Redevelopment Authority of Luzerne County hired Advantage Blasting, Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, to demolish the Coxton Railroad Bridge for $796,000.

Advantage Blasting will build a causeway under part of the bridge to access the span and the support piers. Once those are removed, the report says crews will move the causeway to the other side to dismantle the remaining sections.

Crews are using an excavator truck equipped with shears made to cut through 1½ inches of steel to take down the spans. A jackhammer will shatter concrete supports underwater. Another truck will haul the material off-site. According to the report, dismantling the bridge will take four to six weeks. A $1 million grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development provided will fund the work.

LAG Wrecking Inc., Duryea, Pennsylvania, bought the bridge from the redevelopment authority in 2007 for $500. The Department of Environmental Protection has recommended the bridge’s demolition since 2014, saying it was in danger of collapsing and blocking the river’s flow.

Ownership of the bridge was transferred back to the redevelopment authority by Pilar Glodzik, sister of LAG Wrecking owner Leo Glodzik III, allowing the authority to receive the grant funding.