SHARON County delays work on bridge
The county wants more details on the structural integrity of the span.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The Mercer County Bridge Department has ordered a suspension of all work on the Oakland Avenue Viaduct until spring.
Mark Miller, county bridge engineer, said Tuesday that the county still isn't satisfied with reports on the structural integrity of the 300-foot span over the Shenango Valley Freeway.
By the time the issue is resolved, it will be too late in the construction season to pour the concrete decking on the bridge, he said.
The contractor, Carmen Paliotta Contracting of Library, Pa., will resume work as soon as weather permits in the spring, he said.
Problem: The $3.6 million project, which involved demolishing the old concrete bridge and replacing it with a steel and concrete span, was to be completed Nov. 30, but work hit a snag when the contractor reported the steel frame was slightly out of alignment by as much as 3 inches, causing the bridge to have a slight "S" shape.
The county directed the contractor not to pour the bridge deck and asked for a report on how the misalignment would affect the structural integrity of the bridge. Paliotta had an engineering company examine the structure.
That report indicated the bridge would be structurally safe, but engineers for both the county and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation asked for more details.
Not covered: However, the report didn't cover areas like the secondary steel members that tie the bridge girders together, nor did it cover all areas on the girders themselves, Miller said. The county and state want to know what stresses the misalignment will cause in those areas as well, he said.
It will take a couple of weeks for the additional report to be produced and reviewed, and it's too late in the season to try to pour concrete, so work will be halted, Miller said.
The county granted Paliotta a 28-day extension on its contract in late November because of time lost from delays in steel shipments. That extension will be reevaluated in the spring, Miller said.