Portion of span remains closed

A10-year wait for such repairs is not unusual, the county engineer said.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- It might be years before a bridge providing access to the Shenango Dam recreational area is again open to two-lane traffic, a Mercer County official said.
The westbound lane of the Kelly Road Bridge, South Pymatuning Township, was closed indefinitely Monday. The eastbound lane will remain open for traffic.
Mercer County Engineer Mark Miller told county commissioners at their Chief Clerk's meeting Tuesday that the bridge is on a state 12-year schedule for replacement, but that limited funds mean it might be years before the money is available. Miller said that a 10-year wait is not unusual for such a project.
Commissioners said they will talk to state officials to see whether the bridge can be placed on a priority list or moved ahead of less critical projects because it provides access to the dam. Miller noted that the bridge is not heavily used this time of the year and that only about six homes are affected. In the meantime, traffic is channeled by barrels over the approximately 180-foot long span.
Agencies to be hit by cuts
Commissioners also commented on their recent trip to Harrisburg for the Pennsylvania County Commissioners meeting and said they learned that federal and state cuts next year may mean bad news for taxpayers in Mercer and other counties.
Commissioner Brian Beader said that such services as domestic relations, Children and Youth Services and the Area Office on Aging which receive most of their funds from federal and state sources are part of $21 billion in proposed federal cuts over the next 10 years. He said that because most are mandated services, the counties will have to make up the cuts by increasing taxes.
Commissioner Olivia Lazor said she also talked to Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortez who has not committed funds to reimburse the county for the now decertified Unilect voting machines. The county bought the machines in 2001 to replace old mechanical voting machines with a promise that the purchase price would be reimbursed from federal Help America Vote funds. However, those machines were decertified earlier this year.
The county must buy a new voting system and will receive money for that system. But the status of the nearly $1 million used to buy the Unilect machines is uncertain. The county had borrowed money for that purchase by issuing bonds.