About 30 residents, business owners, and fans of Jim Thorpe showed up on Wednesday night to a protest concerning the old Route 903 bridge.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has slated the 613-foot-long by 27-foot-wide five-span steel girder bridge for demolition in the very near future.The bridge, constructed in 1953 and rehabilitated in 1976, has been replaced by a new, $28 million bridge opens 1,000 feet upstream on the Lehigh River.The protest, organized by Friends of the Jim Thorpe Town Bridge Connection, took place at 5:30 p.m. in the parking adjacent to the rail track, just near the underside of the bridge. Nesquehoning resident Charlie Bott, formerly of Jim Thorpe, led the rally with a speech citing the significance of the 63-year-old structure to the community. Bott encouraged attendees to sign a petition to stop its destruction."This can be done, it needs to be done, time is short and we need your help," Bott said to the crowd.Todd Konstas of Summit Hill, who originated the petition, also spoke on behalf of the group. Konstas drew inspiration from the story of the High Line in Manhattan, a raised railway that fell into decay after 50 years of use, only to be repurposed into a park by a community effort.As Konstas spoke, construction equipment traversed the background to be parked under the bridge for the impending demolition. This did nothing to deter the protestors. In fact, it may have even spurred their vigor a little more.Despite the looming destruction, Konstas was pleased with the attendance and the effort residents were putting into the project."I called the state offices and I realized it's going to take a miracle to save this bridge, so I said a prayer about it, and here we are," he said.Andy Muller Jr., owner of A.C. Muller Enterprises and CEO of Reading and Northern Railroad, mentioned numerous ways that the county could repurpose the bridge, including transforming it into a parking lot, a flea market, or a park."The possibilities are endless," he said.Muller has contacted PennDOT about buying the bridge.On May 12, Carbon County Commissioners Chairman Wayne Nothstein wrote a letter to PennDOT, announcing his support for a sale to Muller."Since the inception of the bridge replacement project," Nothstein wrote, "numerous citizens have voiced their concerns regarding the removal of the old bridge once the new bridge is put into operation. The consensus was to maintain the bridge as a walking bridge but, of course, without funds to maintain the structure, neither the county nor the borough could undertake the task. I support the proposal by Mr. Muller to obtain ownership of the bridge and hope the department will look favorably upon the request."Commissioners Thomas J. Gerhard and William O'Gurek did not join in with their support. Neither did Jim Thorpe borough council, which drafted a letter to PennDOT stating it wanted the bridge torn down and no liability should it fall into private hands.Spurring the confidence in attendees to save the structure, Muller said, "If you guys save this bridge, 10 years from now, you'll all be heroes."