Demolition of the arches on the Lackawanna Ave. bridge in Scranton (Johnstown: 2009, neighborhood)

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I missed the story about this last month. Apparently the arches were deemed too decrepit to save, and they've started taking them down..

Demolition of the Lackawanna Ave. bridge | News | thetimes-tribune.com - The Times-Tribune

That's a real bummer.

[scrantonluna]

Yeah, they were bad from the start, but it was hoped they could be kept and just not be load bearing. Unfortunately they were too far gone.

[kvysmom]

Yes it is sad, they were a piece of history, at least they tried to keep them. It is scary that they were so old and unsafe they couldn't be saved...yet we drove over them for how long?!? I can't wait for that area to reopen again!

[scrantonluna]

Some parts of that bridge were older than you would want to know.,..

I'm waiting for part of the Harrison Ave. bridge to fall onto the expressway. How they can still run trains over the Nicholson Viaduct is amazing as well. Does it see any maintenace?

[to570717]

I have a few old, really old letters from relatives 2 generations back. they lived in west side at the time and in the letters talked about heading over the bridge into the flats.....they crossed that bridge.....kinda crazy!

[weluvpa]

That section of river thru that little canyon down there is nice and when and if they get the park down there done it would be the ideal place to put in a kayak park.

The Gunnison Whitewater Park is a series of rock structures along a several hundred-foot section of the Gunnison River, just west of town and downstream of the Twin Bridges (just west of the town of Gunnison, Colorado). These formations create various water dynamics that make rafting more exciting and turn the area into a paddle playground for kayakers, enabling them to perform all types of tricks while staying within the same stretch of the river.

Paddlers will travel to something like this and there is a pretty decent paddling community here in NEPA as well.

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Originally Posted by weluvpa

That section of river thru that little canyon down there is nice and when and if they get the park down there done it would be the ideal place to put in a kayak park.



Paddlers will travel to something like this and there is a pretty decent paddling community here in NEPA as well.

That's a good idea for the park.

I hope the park down there does happen-- the loss of the arches affects the park the most, where they would have been most visible. Haven't seen designs for the new bridge, but can imagine it's rather ugly underneath..

[weluvpa]

The Lackawanna river is one of the most overlooked resources the city has for recreation/fishing tourism. Its a class A Trophy Trout fishery holding many large 20"+ native trout and a great river for kayaking or canoes. You can start in Carbondale or even as far up as Forest city and paddle all the way to the Susquehanna river.

Jermyn to my neighborhood is a great full day paddle.

[NEPA-x-pat]

You are so right Brother Dan!

I know that I paddle the Lackawanna several times a year. I usually bring my paddle posse with me. I know that we spend hundreds of dollars in the local economy for food (not that I want to start another highjack pizza thread!), gas, beverages..ahem and the usual stuff.

You are so right about it being unappreciated. It is a gem. Nice to paddle the more challenging sections like near Forest City, Archbald to Blakely, and my new target - the class 4 section below Taylor. As mentioned in other posts, people are starting to really enjoy the river, we see them from a different perspective..the river as they have put decks and patios right over the river. I lived along the river until I left for college and it wasn't as nice as it is now, but I did paddle it way back in 1972. Yup I am an old geezer.

A whitewater park would be AWESOME! I have seen them in Golden CO, and in Breckenridge CO. They were made from reclaiming really damaged rivers. They really cost nothing after the initial investment of placing rocks and ledges in the proper location. Nature does the rest. Stoney Creek in western PA has put one in and it is attracting a lot of paddlers to the Johnstown area.

A place to park your car and play in the waves is great. For those that don't know about them, you really don't leave the area to make a long run to another location. Park you car, put your boat in and you go into calm areas called eddies. You peel out into the features and you practice spinning, doing loops etc. Dan you are right on target. Now who can you get in touch with to get the ball rolling. If you need any support letters you know where I am!

[scrantonluna]

I'm pretty sure they are planning some sort of kayak tie-in with the project, but start up is going to be slow. Right now they are working to just get all of the land easements hammered out, the bridge in place, and establishing an unbroken trail. The new bridge is going to be fairly plain from the underside, as you would expect, but they are still planning to go ahead with the aesthetics above; I think they are going with a recreation of the spires at the entrances and period style lighting across the span. As much as I liked the arches, I do not see how they could be recreated or mimicked without great expense.

There is also a period-friendly restoration slated for the Harrison Ave. bridge. Let's hope they take down the chain link screening.