The final steel span of the old Route 903 bridge in Jim Thorpe came down this morning. Crews dropped in near where it met up with Route 209 on the south side of the bridge. The structure over the Lehigh River was replaced in July by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation with a $28 million Sgt. Andrew J. "AJ" Baddick Memorial Bridge. General contractor Allan A. Myers LP installed the four-span continuous steel plate girder bridge. Baddick, a graduate of Jim Thorpe Area High School who grew up along the Lehigh River, died on Sept. 23, 2003, while trying to save a fellow soldier from his submerged military vehicle in Iraq.

The project also included the widening of Route 209 between Liberty and Packer Hill roads and construction of retaining walls. BOB FORD/TIMES NEWS