Things are looking a little brighter in Leechburg.
At least they are on the Leechburg Veterans Memorial Bridge.
After more than a year of working with PennDOT to repair the lights on the bridge, borough leadership announced last month the bridge is now fully lit for travelers.
“The lights going up had a lot to do with the efforts of President of Council Tom Foster and Borough Secretary Bernice Roberts who had begun contacting PennDOT last January on the matter,” DJ Zelczak, Leechburg councilman and the borough’s public safety director, wrote in a text message Wednesday afternoon.
Zelczak said state Rep. Abby Major, R-Leechburg, and Sen. Joe Pittman, R-White Township, were heavily involved in getting the ball rolling with the project. Council President Tom Foster said the two lawmakers’ intervention played a major role in the lights being replaced.
The borough had been listening to residents’ woes about the lights for quite some time, said Leechburg Mayor Doreen Smeal.
“We even had a few residents take the extra step to call (PennDOT) and obtain complaint numbers, which certainly helped move the process forward,” she said.
Smeal previously told TribLive the eight lights on the bridge had been slowly going out until the bridge went dark a few months ago.
Foster said, despite reaching out to PennDOT for over a year, he and the rest of the borough were stuck watching the bridge slowly go dark. There was no movement until Pittman and Majors stepped in, he said.
“It was very difficult to watch,” Foster said. “I was getting very frustrated that nothing was getting done.”
The bridge is owned and maintained by PennDOT, which had been working on the project since spring. A spokesperson had told TribLive the department was waiting on quotes from contractors and materials to come in.
According to a Dec. 29 statement from PennDOT spokesperson Melissa Maczko, the lights were upgraded to LED fixtures.
“There are more pedestrians using that bridge than the average citizen would imagine, I think, and coming off of Leechburg Hill can be a challenge, as well. It’s a fairly high span, as well,” Zelczak said. “All of those reasons made conditions more treacherous than they had to be, and so we are very happy to have the lights repaired.”
The $7,500 project was completed in one day earlier this month.
The bridge was constructed in 1935. It’s almost 670 feet long and about 32 feet wide, according to historicbridges.org.
Major bridge repairs were done in 1984, including replacement of the lighting.
“Most importantly, these lights improve safety for our citizens crossing the bridge especially for those who walk. They also make a wonderful first impression when you’re coming into town,” Smeal said. “A well lit bridge truly makes our community shine.”
