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The SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) held a public meeting yesterday to review plans to replace the Loyalsock Creek Bridge between Montoursville and Williamsport, Pa., which was heavily damaged last year by floods caused by Tropical Storm Lee. The bridge was demolished and the authority took steps to expedite its replacement.

The new $14 million rail bridge will not block Loyalsock Creek if high-water situations or floods occur in the future, said SEDA-COG JRA Executive Director Jeff Stover in a prepared statement.

"The bottom of the new bridge will be one foot above the level of the creek during Tropical Storm Lee. There will be just two piers and only one of them in the water, [and] the other will be constructed on shore," he said. "Both the piers will be anchored in bedrock. No flood is going to move them."

The old bridge was positioned on five piers, increasing the likelihood that debris in high, rushing water could be blocked and eventually dam up the creek, causing floods on either side, said Stover. The new bridge will employ through-girder and truss construction techniques to decrease the possibility of damming if flooding occurs.

The authority expects to seek bids for the project in December and award a construction contract in January. Completion is anticipated by 2013's end.