Morning Call: February 18, 2004

For Linda Iudicello it was a Kodak moment.

Standing Tuesday morning in her Palmer Township neighborhood, near a bridge that had to be closed more than three years ago, were more than a dozen federal, state and local officials, including U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and the federal highway administrator.

And they were all there for Iudicello and her neighbors, listening to their community's own sinkhole-related bridge problems, which have been overshadowed by the nearby Route 33 bridge that sank into a sinkhole Jan. 24.

"PennDOT's mishap has been a blessing for us," Iudicello said later. "To have Senator Specter here and for all the others to see what we live with really draws the point home. Someone needs to look at the entire sinkhole picture; you can't put a Band-Aid on a sinkhole or on a bridge."

Specter made the impromptu appearance at Iudicello's Brookwood neighborhood after confirming federal money will be used to repair Route 33's damaged bridge. With him was Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters, who said Washington will reimburse the state 90 percent of the costs through federal highway relief funds.

Also there was Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler, who said the federal help will allow the north Route 33 span to be rebuilt earlier than previously estimated.

"Our target was to complete replacement of this structure by the end of August," Biehler said. "We think we'll be able to beat that target by as much as a month or two months."

PennDOT estimates that it will cost about $6 million to replace the span.

Quick relief for Iudicello and her neighbors affected by the closure of the neighborhood bridge leading into Stockertown seems far less certain.

During the impromptu tour, a regional representative for the Army Corps of Engineers told Specter that the corps is limited by federal law to working within the banks of the Bushkill Creek. District engineer Tom Chapman said his agency is working with the county on a creek study, but that the corps needs congressional authorization to work outside the waterway on a comprehensive study of sinkholes.

Specter, whose office initially got the corps to investigate Bushkill Creek's sinkholes in 2000, asked Northampton County Executive Glenn Reibman to commit to a partnership with the corps. Doing that would satisfy federal guidelines stipulating that a local government must take jurisdiction over completed corps repairs.

But Reibman told Specter that the county lacks the resources to handle sinkhole liability after the corps leaves.

Biehler reiterated his pledge that PennDOT would handle sinkhole remediation in the creek. However, state law restricts PennDOT to an area within its rights of way, or land immediately adjoining state highways and bridges.

To overcome that restriction, Chapman said the corps and the state would have to work out an agreement in which the state would assume jurisdiction over any future sinkhole remediation in the creek.

Specter, a Republican running for re-election, then left for a campaign fund-raiser, after pledging his continued help.
Said Iudicello: "It also helps with it being an election year."

Steve Esack