Luzerne County Council scheduled to interview prospective Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge engineers

Luzerne County Council is set to interview the three top-ranked engineering firms for the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge replacement project on Thursday.

Council had planned to hold a public interview session but was informed the applicant interviews cannot be public under Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regulations, officials said.

PennDOT confirmed acceptance of the administration’s shortlist of three firms on May 16. The county was awaiting PennDOT clearance to publicly release a list of the prospective firms.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo had closed the county-owned bridge over the Susquehanna River on March 20 after engineers performing an inspection found further deterioration and section loss of primary, load-carrying components.

County council had voted to streamline procedures by allowing a county administration team to review the statements of qualifications from all five engineering firm respondents and recommend the top three to county council, which will make the final selection.

During Thursday’s session, the firms must present detailed information on their qualifications.

In addition to $10 million in federal funding allocated through the state for this project, the county has access to a $55 million casino gambling fund established for county infrastructure.

Because federal funding is involved, the county must select an engineer to develop three options for the bridge.

Since the bridge closing, the alternate route has been the state Route 29/South Cross Valley Expressway crossing, officially called the John S. Fine Bridge.

Totaling 2,072 feet, the bridge connects Nanticoke and the West Nanticoke section of Plymouth Township. The crossing was constructed in 1914 and last rehabilitated in 1987.