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Pennsylvania Bridge Theft: Owners Baffled By Disappearance Of 50-Foot-Long Span

AP

NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A 50-foot-long bridge in western Pennsylvania has been stolen, and its owners say they're baffled by the crime and have no idea who took it.

New Castle Development spokesman Gary Bruce said Friday that he "couldn't believe it when they told me it was gone."

A state police report says the 20-foot-wide span in North Beaver Township went missing between Sept. 27 and Wednesday.

The bridge was made out of corrugated steel and valued at about $100,000. Thieves used a blowtorch to cut it apart, presumably to sell it for scrap metal.

The bridge was used occasionally as a back entrance to the company property. It's in the woods along a railroad line about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Bruce says he doubts the company can replace the bridge.

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Lawrence County steel bridge stolen
Friday, October 07, 2011
By Liz Navratil, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A bandit, or possibly several, has stolen a privately owned steel bridge from a secluded area in Lawrence County.

The Covert's Crossing bridge in North Beaver Township has been in the area since at least the early 1900s, according to the Lawrence County Historical Society.

State police suspect someone used a torch to tear apart the bridge, which was worth an estimated $100,000, sometime between Sept. 27 and Wednesday.

"I couldn't believe it," said Gary Bruce, a spokesman for New Castle Development, the company that owns the bridge, which was 50 feet long and 20 feet wide. "It's a lot of work."

Mr. Bruce said members of a nearby business infrequently used the bridge to transport materials and have another road they can use in its absence. He said he hadn't been on the bridge in about a month and reported the theft to state police after a neighbor told him it was missing.

New Castle Development had recently decided to close the bridge to the public because someone in the area had been stealing copper, Mr. Bruce said.

State police did not release descriptions of suspects in the theft, and the investigating officer was not available for comment Thursday night. Mr. Bruce said he has no idea who would have stolen the bridge.

Some people in Lawrence County believe Covert's Crossing might be haunted. The historical society, in a video about haunted spots in the county, says some residents claim that a beautifully dressed woman haunts the bridge on prom night.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call state police in New Castle at 724-598-2211.
Liz Navratil: lnavratil@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1438.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11280/1180364-455.stm#ixzz1aV5HFvRC

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Thats pretty amazing they could get away with it.  Must have been in a rural area.

We've got a rash of thefts around here where homes are being stripped of copper.  AC units are being stolen /  ripped apart.  New homes that are waiting to be sold are having their copper pipes ripped out of them too.

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That is just too funny.....really it isn't, but damnit it made me laugh.