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Picking up where it left off the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority has applied to the state for money to tear down an abandoned and crumbling railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River.

The authority notified the Department of Community and Economic Development by letter last month of its intent to participate in the Disaster Recover Grant program.

DCED spokesman David Misner confirmed receipt of the letter.

“DCED received a letter of intent to apply for funding for the demolition of the Coxton Bridge from the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority on November 22, 2016,” Misner said in an email Friday.

A message left with Andy Reilly, executive director of the county Redevelopment Authority, was not immediately returned.

The letter signified the authority’s interest in removing the hazard that’s been the subject of discussions and the focus of court orders and enforcement actions by the state Department of Environmental Protection for years. The DEP has concerns about flooding and ice jams that could further damage the already crumbling piers and lead to a collapse that would create an obstruction in the river.

County and state agencies met previously about funding for the demolition of the privately owned bridge. The owner, LAG Wrecking of Duryea, lacked the resources to comply with orders by the DEP to either tear it down or make it structurally sound.

LAG Wrecking of Duryea purchased the span in 2007 for $500 from the authority. Leo A. Glodzik III, whose sister Pilar is president of the wrecking company, said he wanted to demolish it and sell the steel for scrap. Glodzik began serving a 30-month federal prison sentence on Monday for his guilty plea to charges of mail fraud and filing a false tax return.

Colleen Connolly, a spokeswoman for the DEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilkes-Barre, also confirmed the letter was sent to DCED.

“The DEP has been saying all along that this bridge is a danger and it needed to come down. That stance hasn’t changed,” Connolly said Friday.

“However, we see this letter as a positive step forward in resolving this. Winter is coming and the same concerns we had last winter will occur of watching and monitoring the bridge,” she said.

The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority is asking for state funds to demolish the abandoned Coxton railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River between Exeter and Duryea.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL082615bridge.jom_.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority is asking for state funds to demolish the abandoned Coxton railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River between Exeter and Duryea.

By Jerry Lynott

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Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott