By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN With cold weather and the holiday season approaching, anticipation of the impending Main Street bridge closure has been mounting in the borough.
In September, the DEP Bureau of Dam Safety and Flood Control established January as the date work on bridge and dam must begin. Before the bridge closes, Breza Road will be paved and a footbridge will be constructed, according to Mayor Stu Fierstein. Sharon Station Road, which will serve as the main bypass, will also be paved as needed before the closure, he said.
Once closed, the repair project is expected to last 18 months.
Alice Wikoff, who lives adjacent to the bridge, said the temporary walkway will cut into the side yard of her house and she anticipates some of her landscape will be affected as well.
”Somebody has to sacrifice and (my yard) is the logical place for the pedestrian bridge,” she said.
One resident, who lives close to the bridge and wished to remain anonymous, voiced concerns about equipment in front of her house and the noise level of the construction. Overall though, her and her husband’s chief concern was the structure of their home.
”Our house was built in 1860 and it’s a good, sturdy old home,” she said. “We’re worried about our plaster cracking or our window panes having to be repaired.”
Gauges will monitor vibrations generated from the construction to avoid any structural damage, especially to the Old Mill, according to officials.
But some residents are concerned about traffic and children in the borough.
Karen Collins, director of middle school youth ministry at the Crossroads Youth Center, said she worries about attendance levels once the bridge is out of service.
”It may be inconvenient for parents to drive that far out of the way, but we’re hoping the walking bridge will help that,” she said.
The center holds Sunday school classes and community programs, and several middle school and high school students attend, according to Ms. Collins. She said she’s hoping the center will continue to be active regardless of the road closure.
Mary Ellen Fisher, who lives on Allen Drive, said the closure won’t affect the majority of her daily routine, but children commuting to school may become an issue.
”The kids are able to walk now, but when the weather is lousy, it’s going to be more hectic going all the way out of the way to get them (to school),” she said.
Ms. Fisher, who owns Mane Street Hairstyling, is among a number of Main Street business owners worried that the closure will be detrimental.
”A lot of people say that it takes a lot to separate people from their hair salon,” she said. “I have a strong clientele, but sometimes you’re only as good as you are convenient.”
Still, most residents recognize the need for the repair and are hopeful about the closure.
”This has been a long time coming,” Ms. Fisher said. “You never know how safe that bridge is and it will be nice to not have to worry.”
Ms. Wikoff called for residents and business owners to be creative in drawing a crowd in Allentown.
”Maybe when the bridge is closed we can do activities in the street to encourage people to come this way,” said Ms. Wikoff. “We have to turn a negative into a positive rather than all this doom and gloom.”
