I read with a mixture of anger and dismay the article in this week’s Reporter regarding the Corbett bridge. Yes, it’s an early example of Mr. Roebling’s suspension concept, but as the article pointed out, it was built in 1926, one hundred years ago. It was at that same time that my family came to live in Corbett. I have heard my mother and my aunts all tell about watching the bridge being built and having to navigate a wooden plank bridge to cross from the Corbett side of the river to Rt. 30. But this is 2026, a hundred years forward, and the one lane suspension bridge has long outlived its usefulness. Compounding the problem is the fact that our area of the river is being heavily fished and these same fisherman are parking all along the road, and on the grass of the acid factory park, despite signs directing them not to. They are parking in the pull off area designed to allow cars to move off the roadway so that there is adequate room for the cars coming into Corbett from Rt. 30. The result is a bottleneck of traffic that borders on being dangerous to all concerned. And then, there is always the problem of two cars coming on the bridge at once. Drivers on the Corbett side are supposed to give the right of way to the traffic exiting Rt. 30, but I have seen drivers speed up and drive onto the bridge in an attempt to cut them off. I have also witnessed cars on the bridge refusing to back off so the other car can pass. Backing off the bridge and back up on Rt 30 is a recipe for disaster. So, my question is, why can’t we have a two-lane bridge like the one that was installed in Shinhopple? That would eliminate all the problems and make the situation safer for all concerned. The nearly two million dollars that is allocated to repair an obsolete bridge would be much better spent upgrading to a modern two lane structure.
I’m sure there will be people bemoaning the loss of a historic bridge. Perhaps it could be erected at a different location and made into a pedestrian bridge that would allow a closer examination of its suspension system. And if not, then extensive photos could be taken and turned into a display for the historical society to administer. But whatever happens to it, it’s time for it to be retired and a safer alternative put in place.
Linda Mills
Downsville
