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Bridge Update

Rolling Ridge Bridge Update
April 1, 2010

Dear Members,

As most of you know, last evening there was a public meeting held at the Bakersville Fire Hall by the Laurel Hill State Park Complex. Part of this meeting discussed the replacement of the LHHT bridge over the PA Turnpike.

What many of you may not know is that on Tuesday afternoon, there was a private meeting that the 3 local snowmobile clubs requested with Legislator Mike Reese, Legislator Carl Walker Metzgar and Senator Richard Kasunic. This meeting was held at the Laurel Hill State Park Complex and was attended by the following people and organizations:

Laurel Hill State Park Complex (Mike Mumau and Jim Juran)
PSSA (Steve Matscherz)
LHSC (Kerri Schott, Ed Schott, Jim Wilkinson, Todd Harcum, Barry Harcum, Steve Matscherz)
Jefferson Township (Dennis Troup and Bruce Barron)
Living Treasurers Animal Park and Log Cabin Motel & Suites (Tom Guiher)
Maple Summit Snowmobilers (Dave McCarty, Todd Harcum, Barry Harcum, Kerri Schott, Ed Schott)
Rolling Ridge Snowmobile Club (Barry Harcum, Todd Harcum, Kerri Schott, Ed Schott, Dave McCarty)
Mountain Laurel Chamber of Commerce (Sarah Harkcom and Kris Enberg)
Donegal Township (Dan Pribisco and Tom Stull Jr.)
Cook Township (Rich Umbaugh)
State Representatives (Mike Reese, Jordan Frei and Carl Metzgar)
Senator Rich Kasunic
State Park Region #2 (Jeff Anna)

At the Tuesday meeting, the engineer for the DCNR, Alfred Uzokwe, P.E.,
presented to our group drawings of the new bridge as well as a 4-page time line for completion detailing all the tasks that are involved in the replacement of the bridge. At the end, Alfred, Mike, Jim and Jeff took the time to answer our questions and noted some of our concerns and agreed to meet club members at the site to evaluate some of our suggestions.

At this time, the scheduled completion date for the new bridge is December 6, 2011. Funding has been set aside by the DCNR for the 2010 fiscal year (funding will be available after July 1, 2010).

What does this mean?

Well, it is good news that we have finally been given a date for completion. It's bad news that we'll have to go another year without the bridge. All user groups will go two years without having access to the bridge. The question was asked on Tuesday, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that the bridge will be done in time for the 2011-2012
snowmobile season?" The answer by Jeff Anna was, "8 and a half." One example of what would delay the completion date is if a catastrophe happens and the money is needed elsewhere.

What should you do or what is the club going to do in the meantime?

I will be receiving monthly status reports from both Mike Mumau and the legislators/senator confirming (or not confirming) that the bridge is still
on schedule. What I suggest you do is if you've been in contact with any of the legislators or senators, stay in contact with them. Ask them once a month for a status report. This will remind them that you haven't forgotten about the bridge and that you aren't planning to forget about it.

Two years is a long time...

The DCNR did stress at the meeting on Tuesday that they realize the recreational impact this bridge closure is having on the Laurel Highlands
area. They stated that once the bridge is replaced, they know the trails will have to be in spectacular condition to draw users back to this area.
This means better grooming, better signs, etc.

The new bridge will be open to foot traffic, snowmobiles, equestrian and mountain bikes. The bridge will be in the same location as the old one and will be wide enough to accommodate a groomer. Please refer to the LHSC website (www.lhsc.net) to view what was presented to us by the engineer at the Tuesday meeting. More details can be found there.

If you have any questions, or would like more detailed information, you are welcome to contact me by e-mail or phone. Thank you!

Kerri Schott, Vice President
Rolling Ridge Club
vicepresident@rollingridgeclub.org
CELL: (724) 972-7415