Wharton opens way for bridge replacement
FARMINGTON – The Wharton Township supervisors on Monday approved an easement that clears the way for the state to replace the Quebec Road Bridge. Supervisors ratified signing an addendum to an occupancy agreement with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) that would allow the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to replace the township-owned bridge, which carried traffic over Quebec Run in Forbes State Forest.
The agreement is the permanent easement that PennDOT has been seeking as a prerequisite to replacing the bridge, Jim Means, chairman of the board of supervisors, said.
PennDOT ordered the township to close the wooden bridge in April after engineers determined it was not safe for 3-ton traffic.
The DCNR, which owns the property around the bridge, initially offered a yearly easement, but PennDOT wanted a permanent easement to maintain the bridge, Means said.
In other business, the supervisors appointed township secretary Carrie Morrison as secretary of the planning commission to replace Marcie Myers who resigned.