Neighbors: Get span up fast

Federal funds would cover 95 percent of the bridge replacement cost.
& lt;a href=mailto:milliken@vindy.com & gt;By PETER MILLIKEN & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NILES -- Neighbors of the West Park Avenue Bridge, which is scheduled for replacement in 2007, didn't oppose the replacement but warned that area residents should be prepared for inconvenience during the six to nine months of detours.
"Just get it replaced as quick as it can be replaced," said Bud Puskarich, who lives on Earl Street about a half mile from the bridge. The bridge closure and the accompanying four-mile detour over Austintown-Warren and Salt Springs roads and state Route 46 will mean a longer response time for firefighters, he said.
"It's going to be a big inconvenience for a lot of people, but it's going to be a nice bridge," said Bill Pettigrew, who lives on Austintown-Warren Road about a mile from the bridge, which is in Weathersfield Township. The bridge carries considerable traffic bound for General Motors in Lordstown, said Pettigrew, a GM retiree.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's for the betterment of the community. Do it," his wife, Dolores, said of the project.
Public meeting
They were among those viewing drawings of the new bridge at a sparsely attended public comment meeting Wednesday at the Niles Senior Center. The bridge, which carries an average of 5,025 vehicles a day, is a main link between Niles and Lordstown.
The Trumbull County Engineer's office and the Ohio Department of Transportation support its replacement, estimated to cost $1 million. Federal funds would pay 95 percent of the cost, with the other 5 percent coming from county funds, said John Picuri, county bridge engineer.
Built in 1948, the current bridge over the Mahoning River is a rare two-span steel polygonal chord pony truss bridge, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its vehicle weight limit has been reduced from 40 tons to 16 tons because of its deteriorated condition. Because of its historic status, state and federal approval is required before it can be demolished.
An inspection by the county engineer's office in 2002 found trusses leaning in various directions and holes rusted through the floor beams and truss members. Over the years, the county has made repairs to keep the 180-foot-long, 25-foot-wide two-lane bridge open.
New bridge
The new bridge will be a 40-foot-wide, two-lane, three-span, pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete structure with 8-foot shoulders on either side.
The west end of the new bridge roadway will be 3 1/2 feet higher than the existing one to keep flood waters off the deck, said Wade Harvey, structures division manager for MS Consultants of Youngstown, a design consultant on the project. Flood waters last summer made the bridge impassable for three days.
Another part of the project is relocation of a 12-inch water main that crosses the existing bridge. The new pipe, which will tunnel under the river just north of the bridge, should be built before the old one is abandoned, Harvey said.
& lt;a href=mailto:milliken@vindy.com & gt;milliken@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;