EASTON, Pa.- A bridge repair project in Easton has been delayed indefinitely, which is making a difficult situation even harder for the nearby National Canal Museum.<\/p>\n
Construction on the Glendon Hill Road Bridge was scheduled to begin in June and end right about now, at the end of September. The project calls for both structural repairs and a new paint job.<\/p>\n
The three-span bridge carries Glendon Hill Road and the D&L Trail across the Lehigh River to Hugh Moore Park. It provides the only public vehicular access to Hugh Moore Park, which is on an island. The National Canal Museum is inside the Emrick Technology Building at the park.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of the bridge’s closure, the museum announced several months ago that it would close for the season, and no canal boat rides would be offered at Hugh Moore Park. The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (DLNHC) offices and archives would also close.<\/p>\n
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Amy Unger | WFMZ-TV<\/p>\n
But as September draws to a close, construction still hasn’t started, and there’s no indication when it will get under way.<\/p>\n
Dave Hopkins, Easton’s director of public services, told 69 News the problem stems from a dispute between PennDOT and the low bidder on the project.<\/p>\n
While the bridge is owned by Easton, state funding is being used to pay for the project, and so PennDOT’s\u00a0Engineering and Construction Management System (ECMS) was used to solicit bids, Hopkins said.<\/p>\n
69 News asked PennDOT for more information. The agency issued the following statement:<\/p>\n
“The original low bidder\u2019s protest was dismissed, but that decision has been appealed to the Commonwealth Court.\u00a0 We are unable to comment on a matter in active litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hopkins said it’s almost a certainty that the project will not happen this year. For now, Easton is making arrangements to address the project in the spring of 2027, although the city does not have any assurances that construction will follow that timeline.<\/p>\n
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Amy Unger | WFMZ-TV<\/p>\n
Once it became clear that the bridge repairs would not happen as scheduled, the DLNHC offices were able to reopen, but it was too late to salvage the museum’s current operating season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“(W)e did not hire and onboard the seasonal staff required for museum operations,” Lianne Greco, director of the museum and archives, told 69 News in an email.<\/p>\n
“Obviously, this delay has negatively impacted our operations, but we have appreciated the transparency and communication from the City of Easton and PennDOT throughout this process,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n
The public canal boat rides typically start at the beginning of June and end in late October. With the construction timeline still fluid, it’s not known whether they’ll be able to resume in 2027.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, DLNHC staff is taking advantage of the downtime by making some improvements in the National Canal Museum that are difficult to do in a typical year, Greco said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also, in anticipation of the closure this year, they created a traveling exhibition that has been moving throughout the region. “Dynamo!” explores\u00a0how the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor became one of the nation\u2019s most inventive regions, from supplying the iron, steel, and cement that built America, to promoting new ideas in medicine, science, the arts, and the humanities.\u00a0<\/p>\n