Third Street Dam to be breached, but here's why that's a step in the right direction.

In a meeting this morning at the Delaware County Courthouse that included Media Borough Council, County Council and officials from Broomall Lake Country Club, the DEP announced they would like to begin breaching the Third Street Bridge/dam before the end of this year.  This recommended, as the dam has been a safety hazard for what has been almost 20 years.  

This means that once breached, pedestrians may no longer be able to cross into or out of Media from Upper Providence side of 3rd Street, or vice versa.  This is only temporary, if you call what could take two years temporary; until the major construction begins which is expected to replace everything and restore the two lanes for vehicles.

The bridge won't be fully completed until sometime late 2017 at the earliest, but at least now the project is continuing forward.  It's also worth noting that media borough council may have spent as much as 10s of thousands in taxpayers dollars in legal fees, which ultimately found them in contempt of court.   As for 20 years of delays and cost over runs: In 1996 the bridge was estimated to cost about $1.2 million to repair, now it's projected to be 3 to 4 times that.