FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
Work recently began on a project to replace the bridge over Indiantown Run that connects Lake Road at Marquette Lake with Asher Miner Road (Route 443).
The bridge, which served as the exit for Marquette Lake and the Keystone Conference Center, will be closed for the duration of the project.
When completed, the new two-lane bridge will serve as both the entrance and exit for the lake and the conference center, and the road over the Marquette Lake dam that is currently used as the entrance to the lake and the KCC will be closed to vehicular traffic.
Lake Road was widened between the bridge and the KCC last year in order to make it available for two-way traffic.
Replacing the current bridge with a new two-way bridge and closing the road over the Marquette Lake dam will enable the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to make upgrades to dam.
These upgrades are required to maintain compliance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Dam Safety and Waterways Management regulations, said Lt. Col. Adam Love, Fort Indiantown Gap’s director of public works.
“These planned upgrades will allow us to maintain our high standards and responsibility of safeguarding of the lives, as well as to reduce property damage of the citizens living within the dam’s potential downstream flood area,” Love said.
During construction, a temporary exit for the lake and KCC has been established through the PennDOT drivers training site adjacent to the lake, exiting onto Clement Avenue.
Construction of the bridge is expected to be completed in September.
In addition, maintenance upgrade projects are also scheduled to the outside structure of the Keystone Conference Center building. As a result of these projects, the utilization of the KCC will be limited for rentals and conferences.
Marquette Lake was constructed in 1939 for lifeboat and landing drills for troops at Fort Indiantown Gap.
It is named after Sgt. Charles D. Marquette, the first Lebanon County resident to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Marquette, a member of Company F, 93rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, received the medal for actions at the Battle of Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1863.