Request for fire truck clearance on Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge denied

The Nanticoke Fire Department’s request for a fire engine to cross the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge for emergencies has been denied “after careful consideration and review,” Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo informed city Fire Chief Mark Boncal Monday.

“The bridge does not have adequate capacity for the proposed emergency vehicle due to the deteriorated diagonal tie bar member which is limiting the capacity of the bridge,” Crocamo said in the communication.

Crocamo provided a copy of the load rating analysis to Boncal and indicated the information also was provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Crocamo announced in May the weight limit of the county-owned span over the Susquehanna River was reduced to 5 tons. The decision was made after a review of the bridge inspection report, discussions with PennDOT and “in consideration of public safety,” she had said.

Passenger vehicles are permitted under the reduced weight limit but not fire trucks and emergency rescue vehicles, officials have said.

Nanticoke’s fire department relied on the bridge to provide primary fire/rescue coverage to Plymouth Township’s West Nanticoke area on the other side of the river. Depending on location, other township sections are covered by fire departments in Larksville, Plymouth and Lake Silkworth.

These fire coverage changes stemmed from the 2019 disbanding of the township’s Tilbury Fire and Rescue Station primarily due to financial issues.

Without the exemption, the city fire truck must reach Plymouth Township by crossing the river over the alternate route now in effect — the John S. Fine Bridge, which is the official name of the Route 29/South Cross Valley Expressway span.

Nanticoke’s engine/pumper weighs 42,000 pounds, which equates to 21 tons, Boncal has said.

His exemption application requested up to 15 trips across the Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge through the end of May 2025.

The 2,072-foot bridge is a combination concrete and steel crossing. County officials have been exploring options to largely replace the existing span or construct a new one.

Boncal said Monday he wanted to exhaust all efforts to access the span and must accept the determination, noting the lengthy accompanying report contains “a lot of factors and equations only an engineer would understand.”

Township Supervisor Gale Conrad said township officials wholeheartedly appreciate and support the Nanticoke Fire Department and “wish there was a better outcome.” While she respects the expertise of engineers, Conrad said she and many others are trying to figure out why a fire truck was denied access when the span can simultaneously hold more than 25 vehicles during busy times, particularly when some are lined up on the bridge due to the traffic light.

“It’s just perplexing on the issue of weight,” Conrad said.

The administration was working on a response to that question, but the initial feedback is that there’s a difference in the impact of vehicle weight distributed over the length of the span as opposed to concentrated in one fire truck.