The former Barber Quarry rail spur is no secret. The line ran along the Little Lehigh, under both the 8th Street and 15th Street Bridges, ending up near the present day Hamilton Family Diner. I have posted about it often; The Train of Lehigh Parkway, also The Train of Union Terrace and The Junkyard Train. It has played a role in several City plans. It's former railbed would be incorporated into the Trail Network Plan, and the AEDC received a grant to perhaps reinstate the rail line. Both these projects have been covered here at molovinsky on allentown. Today we are told that construction of the 15th Street Bridge replacement will be delayed because of arsenic found by the former railbed. Arsenic, and other pesticides were previously used to make railroad ties. This also is no secret. We are a city which can work with the state government to fast track development for political and private benefit, but are content to have the entire southside isolated. When construction finally does begin, it was suppose to start last November, the bridge will be closed in both directions for over a year. Schreiber's Bridge, the 184 year old stone structure a quarter mile west, has been taking a pounding.* In 1957 the 15th Street Bridge opened, finally providing a good connection between South Allentown and the remainder of the city. Because Pennsylvania was considering it's replacement, Community Development Director Pawlowski, under Afflerbach, didn't have it's metal beam structure painted. Because Mayor Pawlowski has been consumed with Transforming Allentown, no haste has been applied to the bridge project. While the politicians and press lament about the Hole at 8th and Hamilton, I'm concerned about the quality of life issues; That bridge is one of them.
*This blog has noted the on going damage to Schreiber's Bridge from heavy use with just one lane of 15th Street Bridge currently closed. This blogger personally informed Mayor Pawlowski of the damage.
reprinted from May of 2012
City Hall just put Schreiber's back on death row by approving two high-rise apartment buildings about 100 yards away from the bridge.
ReplyDeleteThis will almost certainly necessitate the building of a new bridge (at taxpayer expense), since the current bridge likely cannot handle all the additional traffic. The only question is how far will the bridge be allowed to deteriorate before it is replaced.
Get your photos now.
Going off-topic here (apologies in advance), and back to a recent post - "No Mercy for the Little Lehigh Creek" (3/13).
ReplyDeleteIn that post, you mentioned something I didn't know, that the EPA has withdrawn their mandates and will settle for a drop in the bucket.
What just dawned om me was that the EPA mandates were used to justify the city's (illegal) stormwater tax.
So now that the EPA mandates have been withdrawn, will City Hall be rescinding the stormwater tax?
Also, we've been paying the tax for two years now, so where does one get their refunds?