Polk Township is anxiously awaiting the start of the culvert replacement to the bridge over Dotters Creek on Hell Hollow Road, but delays with utility lines, poles and the contractor are quickly pushing to project to the point of sink or swim.

The Department of Natural Resources and the Conservation District set strict rules on when and how work can be done in creek beds in the area. Work on bridge footings that require entrance into the waterway must be undertaken between May 1 and Oct. 1.Oct. 1 is fast approaching, and while the power lines, cable lines and poles have all been moved into the temporary positions, none of the bridge work has begun. And at Monday night's board of supervisors meeting, the supervisors were asked to accept a change order moving the completion date from Sept. 15 to Sept. 30."The construction crew must be out of the water by the first," township engineer Russell Kresge said. "If it is a day or two they might give us some leeway, but they can shut the project down for the winter if we go too long."Truck trafficAnother concern in the township and particularly with Chairman and roadmaster Brian Ahner are the heavily loaded dump trucks traveling through the township to the dump site in Palmerton.Ahner said the trucks were originally taking Route 33 to Route 209 then taking Silver Spring Boulevard, which would take the trucks over the Aquashicola on their way into Palmerton.Ahner said he was informed that the bridge over the Aquashicola has recently been weight restricted, causing the trucks to seek an alternate route."The actual detour is Route 33 to Route 209 and down 115 to 903, then down 534 to Route 209," Ahner said. "They turn right there to get to Palmerton."Ahner says the reason that the trucks are not traveling straight down Route 209 is that the bridge in Kresgeville is weight restricted. This is the same bridge scheduled for replacement next year.Ahner says that the trucks are not following the set detour and instead the drivers are using Burger Hollow Road, Haney Road and Lower Middle Creek rather than the 30-mile detour."Beverly and I have been burning up the phone lines and getting nowhere," Ahner said. "The township gets about $300,000 in liquid fuels money for our roads, 35 percent of that has to go for equipment. So let's say we have $250,000 for our roads. If we have to pave just Lower Middle Creek alone, that would be $200,000. With these trucks destroying our roads, that money won't go very far."Ahner said that the truck traffic is expected to last another two years until the current permit expires.