Threatened with a $650-a-day penalty starting Jan. 1, contractors have come up with a plan to repair the Oakland Avenue Viaduct in Sharon, said Mercer County Commissioner Chairman Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman.

Work halted on the viaduct, which spans U.S. Route 62, also known as Connelly Boulevard in Sharon, after county bridge officials announced that the steel beams that support the bridge are out of alignment by as much as 3 inches in some places.

Brenneman said the contractors, Carmen Paliotta Construction of South Park, Pa., have been working with state and county agencies and have produced a plan to correct the problem. Commissioners had said they would begin charging Paliotta a daily fee if they didn't come up with a plan by the first of the year.

The contractors, Brenneman said, have decided the bridge can be repaired, and does not need to be torn down.

Brenneman said the plan has not yet been presented to the commissioners.

The old viaduct was imploded June 23, 2001, and its replacement was supposed to be finished by Nov. 30, 2001. Federal funds are paying for 80 percent of the $3.5 million project. State funds will pay for the other 20 percent.