Photo submitted by Bea Wittman
Glenn O. Hawbaker Incorporated employees work near a pool of water at the Irwin Run Bridge construction site. Water had to be pumped away from the workers before they added necessary pieces to the bridge.

Irwin Run Bridge work to be finished by end of the month.

By Joseph Bell

Staff Writer

Despite running into a snag down the stretch, Glenn O. Hawbaker Incorporated employees are expected to complete work on Irwin Run Bridge in Spring Creek Township by the end of the month.
Early last week, construction workers ran into problems with the rising Clarion River and required assistance from Capital City Fire Station, located along Front Street in Ridgway.
According to Richard Wittman, current chairman of the township’s board of supervisors, Engine 43 was needed to pump water away from the construction workers while they worked.
“The fire truck had to come down and pump 1,300 gallons of water a minute to keep it dry enough so they could work in the hole,” Wittman said. “They were hauling gravel (Monday) and they probably had 75 trucks going up and down the road all day hauling stone in.
“They have to bring in close to 200 truckloads of stone for backfill on that bridge. The Clarion River backed up into there like it does on these real nice days and it floated all the stream diversion. So when it went back down, they had no stream diversion and created some real problems.”
The water was being pumped out so the workers could set the different bridge pieces.
“The wings and all that, they had a mess down there while they were doing the arches and wings,” Wittman said. “But they pave the bridge next week sometime, weather permitting.
“They should be done by the end of the month.”