The replacement of the West Broad Street Bridge over the Wabash Creek in Tamaqua is expected to start in the summer of 2018 and be finished before school starts that fall.

About 20 residents attended a presentation hosted at the Salvation Army of Tamaqua during the regular meeting of Tamaqua Borough Council on Tuesday.The purpose of the presentation was to update the public and local communities on the project design, as well as the results of recent environmental studies related to the project.Display boards showed the different facets of the project. The bridge plans were on display before the meeting.On behalf of the Federal Highway Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation welcomed comments from residents and organizations interested in the identification of historic resources and the effect that the project may have on those resources.The bridgeThe project will result in improvements to the hidden, single-span, stone-arch bridge over the Wabash Creek.The weight restriction on the structurally deficient bridge is 28 tons.The bridge will be poured in place on concrete footings, with a precast concrete archway, curb to curb.ConstructionBrian Teles, project manager from Gannett Fleming, told council that the project is in its final design.The plan is to relocate the water main that will be part of the project and install a new sewer main before closing the street.A construction fence perimeter will be established on the south sidewalk between South Railroad Street and Hunter Street, while keeping pedestrian traffic on the south side sidewalk of Broad Street. The north sidewalk may be blocked off at some point.The project is expected to go out to bid in the fall. A contract will likely be awarded in September 2017.Construction is expected to begin the day after school closes in 2018, and may require a lane closure. The detour will also begin that day.Officials stressed that the goal for the replacement is to have everything done and completed in the fall of 2018 before the start of school.Following the completion of the project, PennDOT will repave Spruce, Lehigh and South Railroad streets and will construct the necessary handicapped curb cuts.Detour routeDuring construction, those traveling west to east through Tamaqua will be detoured up Stadium Hill and down Spruce Street to Center Street.On Spruce, between Sewer Plant Road and Center Street, it will be one-way, with left-turn and right-turn lanes to alleviate traffic tie-ups on Spruce.Those traveling east to west will take Broad Street to South Railroad, then South Railroad to Spruce to Lehigh Street, and back down to Broad.Before the detour goes into effect, PennDOT will patch the detour route where needed.Business owner speaks outRich Stianche, owner of Dn'A Bikes, 115 W. Broad St., shared his concerns with council."Most of my customers are from out of town," Stianche said. "That's three months of peak season for me."Stianche said that while he understands the need for the project, his business will be affected a great deal."I stand to lose 25 to 30 percent of my business," he said. "That affects me greatly."Parking restrictionsOn Spruce Street, between Oak Street and Bowe Street, there will be no parking on the south side of Spruce between Oak and Green streets, and only three or four spaces on the south side of Spruce between Green and Oak removed; as well as some spaces on Spruce from Green to Bowe streets.At the corners of Hunter and Spruce streets, the existing no-parking area will likely be enforced more strictly. Hunter will be one-way north to south from Hunter to Spruce, and Broad Street will be one-way west to east from Nescopec Street to Hunter.Nescopec will lose one side of parking, and there will be two-way traffic from Broad to Hegarty Avenue. Hegarty Avenue will be one-way west to east from Nescopec to Berwick Street, while Rowe Street will remain one-way west to east. Broad Street will be closed to parking and traffic between South Railroad and Hunter Street.