1 bridge complete, 3 more to go on Valley High School's campus

It’s one bridge done and three to go for the crossings over Little Pucketa Creek on the Valley Junior-Senior High School campus.

Ed Patton of Patton Engineering told the New Kensington- Arnold School Board last week that the entrance bridge over the creek was completed Tuesday.

Now, the planning will turn to the twin bridges near the gymnasium entrance and the bridge near the football stadium and the Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center. Those pieces of the project have not received formal approval from the school board.

The most expensive part of the proposed $1.1 million overhaul would be the twin pedestrian bridges.

Patton said he was asked to “do something with the drab” look. Prefabricated ADA ramps would be part of the new look with a landscaped gathering area and a patch of artificial turf near where the military honors display sits.

The other bridge has damage to curbs and railings because of vehicle crashes. Patton indicated the sides of the bridge would be extended on both sides and the substructure of the bridge is “in good shape.”

Coincidentally, the plan to connect the parking lot to the stadium area was unveiled on the 75th anniversary of the sports facility, which opened Sept. 6, 1947. The stadium was built 10 years before the high school on land donated by Alcoa.

“This (plan) is something to think about and discuss,” Patton said.

School board President Timothy Beckes said the plan has the capability of fitting within the school district’s budget.