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Edella Road Bridge Over I-81 Closed

SOUTH ABINGTON TOWNSHIP — A bridge in Lackawanna County has been shut down because of structural concerns. The Edella Road bridge over Interstate 81 in th...

SOUTH ABINGTON TOWNSHIP -- A bridge in Lackawanna County has been shut down because of structural concerns.

The Edella Road bridge over Interstate 81 in the Clarks Summit area is closed and it might stay that way for some time.

PennDOT says this bridge was already scheduled to be replaced next year, but movement in the bridge now has it closed until further notice.

Drivers who travel along Edella Road in this part of Lackawanna County now have to take a detour and that detour could be in place for quite a while.

"Underneath the ground right now there's a lot of hydraulic pressure taking place. There's water in the ground and all winter it's been freezing and thawing, expanding and contracting, and that does damage to roads and a lot of damage to bridges," explained PennDOT official James May.

PennDOT says an inspector looking at the bridge noticed movement in the bridge's pier, enough movement that they had to close it.

"If you think of a bridge sort of like your kitchen table, essentially what happened is one of the legs on the table has moved and shifted. Because of that, the concern is obviously for the people traveling over the top of the bridge, but also this is the bridge that goes over Interstate 81 that has about 70,000 cars a day," May said.

According to PennDOT's website, nearly 3,500 vehicles travel on this bridge every day.

Brooke Herman, who lives right next to the closed bridge, says it's no problem for her except that her driveway and her neighbors' driveways end up being used for U-turns.

"The only thing is really that people don't realize that it closes sometimes, so we get a lot of turn-abouts in our driveway, but other than that it's easy to get around so it's not horrible."

Drivers say that they're happy PennDOT noticed that there is a problem with the bridge, but they say having a detour around this area is going to be an inconvenience.

"I have two kids. I'm glad that they are taking safety precautions. I just hope the timeline, for my sake, it's not too long," said Julie Manwarren.

Manwarren was one of the many drivers who ended up having to make the U-turn on Edella Road. She says she uses this road often and hopes it reopens soon.

"I use the doctor's offices that are down this road. I also go to Weis Markets and some others that are in the Abingtons and it's easier for me to use this road then to go up around and make a loop."

This same stretch of Edella Road was closed for a month last summer for a nearby bridge project.

PennDOT officials tell us right now they aren't exactly sure when this bridge will reopen. A spokesperson says it could be weeks, or even months.

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