Officials working to settle bridge dispute

MERCER, Pa. -- Mercer County officials are still trying to settle the stalemated Oakland Avenue Viaduct dispute.
Mercer County Engineer Mark Miller told Mercer County Commissioners on Thursday, "We continue to move forward."
Commissioners' Litigation Solicitor Bill McConnell said, "We have been making great strides in identifying problems causing the misalignment," a process that he said took months. He added he is optimistic that financial and legal issues will be resolved so that work can resume.
But McConnell would not be more specific or give a time frame for settling of the dispute.
The Sharon bridge, which spans the Shenango Valley Freeway, was being reconstructed when work was halted in 2001 because of a dispute over the construction. Carmen Paliotta Contracting, Inc., of Library, Pa., the bridge contractor, later sued the county after work was ordered stopped.