The $64,000 question in Mercer County seems to be: What is going on with the Oakland Avenue Viaduct in Sharon?

As of Tuesday no one was winning any money because there didn't seem to be a definitive answer to that question.

Workers for Carmen Paliotta Contracting Inc. were continuing preliminary work to dismantle the bridge which spans Connelly Boulevard.

Mercer County Solicitor Lewis McEwen said, according to the contractor, removing the steel deck on the bridge will take about three weeks. That work can continue without the South Park, Pa.-based company obtaining a permit, McEwen said.

The contractor will have to submit a plan and have it approved if before the "structural steel" of the bridge can actually be dismantled, McEwen said.

On Oct. 31 Mercer County Commissioners set a Dec. 1 date for Paliotta to have a plan to repair the viaduct submitted and approved by county and PennDOT officials. At that time, commissioners said if a plan was not approved by the deadline, PennDOT would take over and complete the project, and the contractor would be responsible for any costs exceeding the original $3.6 million.

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