PARADISE TOWNSHIP -- For the last three months, contractors from Pioneer Construction Company have been working to repair a bridge on Hulbert Hill Road in Paradise Township, but earlier this week, a very important piece of machinery went missing.
A foreman for the company says a backhoe was stolen from the job site sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
"It was parked right on the other side of the bridge over there. They actually had to jump it up onto the bridge over a 14-inch jump to get onto the bridge and that is about it," said Jeff Gurns, Pioneer Construction Company.
The backhoe is a 2001 Case 580 Super M Series model.
Jeff Gurns says the keys were not in it at the time.
The company is offering a $2,500 reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest.
"It's a shame, you know what I mean? It's just a shame to see that people actually want to do something like that," said Gurns.
Not only are crews down a very expensive piece of equipment, but now they have to move a lot of this stuff by hand and that makes the job more difficult.
"A lot of extra work. It slows down the process. We are at the end of the bridge now where you know it's pretty much cleanup and loading everything out," said Gurns.
Contractors working at this home just down the road from where the backhoe was lifted say its a shame you can't leave anything out in the open these days.
"I think it's pretty rotten of someone. People just going out and stealing stuff. That's a lot of money, 30 thousand dollars or more and someone just took off and now the guy is out of that money," said Allen Shiffler, Chadd Gray Building Contractor.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Pioneer Construction Company or State Police at the Stroudsburg Barracks.