Mixed Feelings

The old Eighth Street Bridge closed Tuesday afternoon.  It spans the Susquehanna River between Jenkins Township on the east, and Wyoming on the west.   The old bridge is the big metal thing on the right.   the new one is the concrete structure on the left.

The old bridge had to go.   It was too narrow.  Penndot called it "structurally deficient."  However, it was a magnificent old bridge-- all those steel beams going from one side of the river to the other.  Let's face it, new bridges are boring.  They all look alike.

You have to keep your eye on the ball here.  We're not here to make an architectural statement.  We're here to get from one side of the river to the other, without ending up in the water.  On top of that, it's function over form and we have to be careful with the money we spend.

The old steel bridge comes down later this spring.

The trip across the Susquehanna will be easier.  It will be safer.  It won't be the same.