Future of North Huntingdon's Leger Road, bridge still uncertain

Inconvenience and public safety were the chief issues raised by people who turned out for a recent meeting to discuss PennDOT's plans for a bridge along Leger Road in North Huntingdon that has been closed since early 2011.

Though only 18 of the nearly 100 people who came out for the Aug. 13 meeting at the Town House made public comments, the sentiment in the packed meeting room was clear: Residents want the state to replace the crumbling bridge and fix the narrow, pock-marked road that runs between Routes 30 and 993 in the Ardara neighborhood.

“We should open the bridge,” said Mercedes Wolfe of Ardara Road. “It's not only an inconvenience, it's a safety hazard. We needed to call 911, and they (emergency responders) forgot that the bridge was closed and had to turn around and go in a different direction. If that was your family ... and seconds mattered, what would you want? I think you'd want the bridge to be open.”

Wolfe, who called the condition of Leger Road “deplorable,” was joined by residents who complained about its dangerously narrow lanes, rough surface and poor sight lines.

“The road surface and drainage are terrible,” said Rick Keenan of Leger Road.

Ed Kemp of Leonard Lane said he has seen a “steady” deterioration of the road and bridge during the 26 years he has lived in the neighborhood.

“I've never witnessed it being properly resurfaced my entire time there,” he said.

State transportation officials who attended the meeting said the agency had planned to permanently close the 112-year-old wooden-deck bridge but would consider replacing it with a new one if the township is willing to take over ownership of — and responsibility for — it once the work is done.

In addition to a new bridge, the state also would rebuild the 2-mile stretch of Leger Road leading to the bridge and turn it over to the township, as well.

PennDOT already is scheduled to replace a one-lane bridge on Leger Road that traverses Brush Creek with a new two-lane span, according to Liberty Hill, a planning engineer in PennDOT's District 12 office. That bridge also would become the township's responsibility as part of a “turnback” program the agency is proposing.

But some township officials are balking at the idea of having to own the bridges and road as a condition of getting them up to acceptable standards.

“I sort of feel like the township and the residents are being held hostage,” commissioners President Rich Gray said.

“In the near future, there won't be a maintenance cost if you do a nice job. But down the road, there's going to be a significant cost. I think that's what scares us.”

PennDOT engineers estimate that each of the bridges will cost between $2 million and $3 million to replace. The agency has not yet developed a cost estimate for refurbishing Leger Road.

Township engineer Andrew Blenko, who has conducted a preliminary examination of the bridges and roadway, questioned the degree to which the road could be widened and the extent of the work PennDOT would do to bring Leger Road up to modern standards.

He said the combined width of the lanes along Leger can vary between 16 and 18 feet.

“There are places (along Leger) where there's no room to go,” he said, adding that there also are at least two “active” landslides along the road where retaining walls would be needed to correct the problem.

“If you bring it up to good standards but the (combined) width (of the lanes) is still only 17 feet, I'm not sure you've done much,” he said. “It's kind of like waxing an old car that has an engine that doesn't run very well.”

The state's standard for lane width on local roads is between 9 feet and 10 feet. Hill conceded that “it would be hard” to make sections of Leger that wide because of the terrain, which includes steep embankments and cliffs.

Hill said if municipal officials agree to take over the road and bridges, PennDOT would conduct a thorough engineering study to determine the scope of the work needed and provide the funding for them “to be brought up to first-class condition,” which includes the addition of guide rails, slide repairs, drainage and resurfacing.

Rick Skovensky, a municipal-services specialist for PennDOT, said if North Huntingdon officials agree to the stipulation that the township takes ownership of the road and bridges, the municipality also would receive $11,500 a year from the state for maintenance.

Several commissioners questioned PennDOT's contention that Norfolk and Southern, which is responsible for maintaining the substructure of the bridge that traverses its rail lines, does not have to contribute to the cost of replacing the span.

“What's frustrating to me is that it sounds like it wouldn't cost you as much ... if the railroad is going to contribute,” Gray said. “We'd prefer it if the railroad contributed to reduce your costs to repair it, then you keep it and maintain it.”

Gray said the commissioners did not vote at their Aug. 19 meeting on whether to accept PennDOT's offer because officials still are trying to develop a plan to get the new road and bridges without having to bear the responsibility of owning them.

Tony LaRussa is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at tlarussa@tribweb.com.