The new Route 903 bridge in Jim Thorpe is farther upstream than the current bridge.

During the county commissioners' meeting last week, Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that he spoke with James R. McGee, assistant district executive for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, after some residents questioned why the new bridge couldn't be built next to the current bridge.He highlighted a few main points from McGee, saying that the existing structure is fracture critical; replacing the structure at the existing location would require a 20-mile detour for the entire construction duration and the new location removes the "dog leg" on Route 903.In addition, the existing bridge has "narrow lanes with no shoulders," the operational and safety characteristics of the 903/209 intersection is in need of improvements, and the current intersection location does not meet the necessary turning radius for trucks so rigs must cross over the yellow line when turning.McGee also wrote to Gerhard that the "North Street Alignment does not require a detour during construction, reduces traffic on Front and River streets, does not have an impact on either the Twining Park or historic district, and allows PennDOT to work with Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad to remove spur track to create a much wider intersection at 903 and 209 and provide turn lanes."Gerhard said that he felt the public should be aware of these points, specifically that replacing the bridge at the current location would cause a 20-mile detour for the duration of the project, which is slated to be completed by July 2017.Construction of thenew Route 903 bridge began last month and workon clearing trees and preparing the site has been underway since mid-February.