Officials plan to replace bridge

The new bridge should open sometime in 2006.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners are hopeful that the 85-year-old Ewing Park Bridge will be gone later this year.
Designs for the replacement bridge should be finished by March 22, said Commissioner Ed Fosnaught.
The bridge, located on Sims Street in Ellwood City, has been closed to motor vehicles at least two times in the last few years for repairs. But commissioners have refused to close it permanently until a new bridge is built because it is a main route to the Ellwood City Hospital.
Fosnaught said the county is now working on buying property near the bridge.
He said they need a small portion of the parking lot near the Wellness Center, which is owned by the Ellwood City Hospital, as well as some property near Loccisano's supermarket. Land owned by the Ellwood City Borough has been donated to the county, Fosnaught added.
He said they are also working with Penn Power to move power lines.
Commissioners are expected to open bids for work on the new bridge in late May.
Fosnaught said the old bridge should be razed sometime this fall and the new bridge completed sometime in 2006.
cioffi@vindy.com