Resident wants action on bridge replacement

City officials are trying to secure additional funding for the project, one said.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Meryle Ward said he's tired of waiting for the city to replace the Grant Street Bridge on the city's West Side. Ward told city council at a meeting Thursday he thinks residents in that area of the city have been ignored, slighted and overlooked.
"It seems like the city is willing to do everything for everybody, except those of us on the West Side," he said. "We may not be an affluent community, but we're still taxpayers."
Broken promise
Ward said the city promised work on the bridge would commence this year. "But nothing," he said. "There's no talk about it at all now. We've been waiting for years."
The bridge was closed a few years ago after engineers declared it unsafe. The city received a federal grant in 1999 to help pay for the replacement of the bridge, which spans the Shenango River in the downtown area. On Thursday, city officials explained the state halted work on the bridge because the city is short $2 million for the project. The city is responsible for paying 5 percent of the project, which is expected to cost about $3.7 million. City officials said they are working with state and federal representatives to secure additional funding.
Bypass used
Meanwhile, to cross the river in the Grant Street area, motorists use Samson Street and Falls Street bypass.
"There are at least 2,500 people living on the West Side affected by this," Ward said. "It's not safe to not have the bridge open, and it's a big disappointment that we've had to wait so long."
Tammi Gibson, city business administrator, said that in November, Mayor Wayne Alexander advised the state the city is trying to secure more funding for the bridge work and is looking to have final designs for the project completed.
"But the state said to put a hold on the project because we're short the $2 million," Gibson said. "It hasn't gone away. We're still trying."
She added that the money is still allocated for the project.