The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority will take back ownership of the dilapidated Coxton Yard railroad bridge spanning the Susquehanna River in Exeter Township, an authority majority decided Tuesday afternoon.
Authority ownership will allow demolition of the bridge, ending years of fears the structure along Route 92 could collapse and create a flood threat, officials said.
Joseph J. Buczynski, an environmental program manager at the state Department of Environmental Protection, encouraged authority members to take action Tuesday, saying $1 million in state funding earmarked for the bridge demolition would be reprogrammed if a government entity did not agree to take ownership of the structure by March 31.
Buczynski said two piers supporting the bridge are “severely” deteriorated, and there’s no way of knowing if the structure will collapse a week from now or in years.
LAG Wrecking, of Duryea, had purchased the span from the authority for $500 in 2007 but never carried out its plans to demolish the bridge and sell the steel for scrap.
Buczynski told the authority his agency has exhausted its legal options to force the company to address the problem.
Authority members Carol Keup, Scott Linde and John Pekarovsky voted to take ownership of the bridge, contingent on the county Flood Protection Authority’s approval of a cooperation agreement to handle management of the demolition and assist with other requirements.
Redevelopment Authority board members Anne Pelak and Judith Barr voted against the takeover, saying they believe the Flood Protection Authority should accept ownership instead.
Flood Protection Authority Executive Director Chris Belleman, who was not at the meeting, said Tuesday his authority did not want to accept ownership because it had no legal interest in the bridge, and the span had been owned by the redevelopment authority in the past.
The redevelopment authority inherited the bridge as part of a railroad acquisition, but the bridge was not open to vehicular traffic or linked to active rail service. The span connects the Coxton Rail Yards in Duryea to the Harding section of Exeter Township.
The flood authority is willing to serve as project manager developing a demolition plan and overseeing the teardown, in the interest of public safety, Belleman said. The flood authority would report to the redevelopment authority, he said.
Belleman said in 2014 the bridge was in “perilous condition” and cautioned another forceful Susquehanna flood could create enough pressure to compromise one or more pillars, especially if the water carries trees or buildings.
A temporary road under the bridge would be necessary for heavy equipment to dismantle and carry away pieces of the bridge, he said. Demolition would ideally be in late summer, when the river is usually at its lowest, he said.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development would supply the $1 million demolition funding through its disaster recovery grant program, officials said.
Buczynski said his agency and the state transportation department have agreed to speed up state permits and approval for the work due to the condition of the bridge, including a highway occupancy permit to access the site from Route 92.
LAG Wrecking was affiliated with Leo A. Glodzik III, who is serving a 30-month federal prison sentence for his guilty plea to charges of mail fraud and filing a false tax return. His sister, Pilar, is president of the wrecking company and has agreed to sign over ownership of the bridge to any government entity to complete the demolition, officials said.
In other business, developer George Albert met in closed-door executive session with the redevelopment authority Tuesday to discuss pending litigation involving the historic former New Jersey Central train station property, officials said.
Albert and other investors with Market Square Properties Development LLC purchased the train property from the redevelopment authority for $1.2 million last year.
Market Square wants to include a new Burger King on the property at the corner of Market Street and Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, but the owners of an adjacent parcel leased to McDonald’s on Northampton Street — Thom Greco and his company, TGRG L.L.P. — maintain a Burger King is not permitted on the Market Square lot due to a no-competition covenant. Market Square argued the covenant was implemented without authority and should be declared unenforceable. Their dueling court actions are pending, officials said.
During a break in the meeting, redevelopment authority representatives showed Albert stained glass windows, brass lighting fixtures, tile fireplace covers and doors that had been removed from the train station years ago and stored at the authority’s West Pittston offices for safekeeping.
Albert said he did not know the items were preserved and will incorporate them into the station’s upcoming renovation.
