Partial test installation of Market Street Bridge flood closure structure set for Thursday | Dallas Post

A partial trial installation of the Market Street Bridge flood closure on the Kingston side will be completed Thursday morning, Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman announced.

The exercise is expected to begin approximately 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and wrap up at 1 p.m., Belleman said.

One westbound lane heading toward Kingston will be temporarily closed during this period. Eastbound traffic lines into Wilkes-Barre will not be impacted by the operation.

Linde Corporation, the contractor handling the exercise, will follow Pennsylvania Department of Transportation guidelines on directing traffic through the work zone, Belleman said. As a courtesy, Belleman notified the county 911/Emergency Management department and municipal officials.

Belleman said the entire Kingston closure structure does not have to be set up for this operation.

“Once you’ve done a couple of bays, the pattern is duplicative. We are going to focus on the closure portion on the upstream sidewalk and extend one bay into the roadway,” Belleman said in the release.

County Flood Protection Authority Chairman Dominic Yannuzzi said such periodic practice exercises are necessary to ensure equipment is in order and that workers remain prepared for Susquehanna River flooding.

“It is part of the authority’s commitment to protect residents from flooding,” Yannuzzi said. “In some instances, we only have a few hours of notice to install flood walls and engage pumps.”

While the bridge closures are one of the most prominent flood protection features, dozens of other components must be tested on a regular basis to make sure they are operating properly and that the flood protection system is fully functioning, Yannuzzi said.

The 16-mile flood control system includes eight electrical substations, more than 120 underground wells that relieve water pressure that could compromise the levee and 13 pump stations with deep-well pumps that handle drainage from the land side of the levee when it can no longer naturally feed into the Susquehanna, officials have said.