SCRANTON -- The hope was to have a whole new Rockwell Avenue Bridge in Scranton open by the fall. Not now.
Instead of building a bridge, crews now have to spend that time investigating where contamination is coming from and how to stop it.
The new Rockwell Avenue Bridge will go over Leggett's Creek off of Market Street in Scranton. On Tuesday, crews were working to re-route the creek for construction when they found contamination in the groundwater.
Officials from The Department of Environmental Protection told Newswatch 16 Wednesday that the petroleum-based substance is likely waste oil. To clean it up, it is likely going to cost money and time.
There were signs of progress on Rockwell Avenue folks in north Scranton had been looking for for a long time. But, while PennDOT worked on the big task of re-routing Leggett's Creek for a new bridge they dug up something they were not expecting.
"We got about three feet below stream level and then at that point we encountered what appeared to be a contaminated substance," said construction project manager Pat McCabe.
Tests later found that it is a petroleum-based substance, likely waste oil. PennDOT kept digging and found it in five other places in the creek's groundwater. The DEP asked to put construction on hold. Then, PennDOT met with Scranton Mayor Bill Courtright about the latest road bump in replacing the city's bridge.
"Disappointing to hear that the project is being held up, and disappointing to hear that it`s going to cost a tremendous amount of money to possibly fix this problem," Mayor Courtright said.
The city, the state, and the federal government are splitting the cost the bridge project. That cost will likely go up now, but officials won't know how much until they know how much of the oil leaked into the groundwater and how much it will cost to clean it.
"Our preliminary numbers are of concern to us. They were very high, much higher than we`re able to deal with at this point in time. What precipitated that meeting was to look at some options that we can handle within our budget," added McCabe.
The city of Scranton closed the Rockwell Avenue Bridge almost three years ago. A pedestrian bridge was put in when the construction project started late last year. But no car traffic in this area has affected families and businesses.
Kevin Noone owns Noone's Market and is just one of those folks who's had to wait three years just for the project to get off the ground. Now, it's something in the ground delaying it even further.
"I just hope they get at it as soon as possible. Fix the problem and get that oil out of there and get back to work on it. It shouldn`t be delayed too long," Noone said.
Before the oil can be cleaned up, the DEP has to find a source. Officials with the DEP told Newswatch 16 they are looking at all the properties in the area around the bridge project. It could have possibly come from an underground tank. If they find such a tank, it would tell them how much leaked.