Equipment worth $25K stolen
WEBSTER – Equipment valued at nearly $25,000 was stolen Monday night or early Tuesday from the demolition project under way at the Donora-Webster Bridge.
Two large hammer drills valued at $10,000 apiece were among the items stolen from Beech Construction Inc. of Carnegie, Rostraver Township police said. The drills were attached to heavy equipment to break apart the concrete deck, the company said.
A dead deer also was discovered Tuesday where workers have been demolishing the ramp to the bridge on the Webster side of the Monongahela River, police said.
Police said it would have taken a large truck to remove the drills from the worksite. The company went door to door Tuesday morning asking neighbors if they noticed anything suspicious overnight, a local resident said.
Police said the drills had been rented, and investigators have their serial numbers.
Beech began to raze the ramp in mid-February in preparation for the implosion of the main spans of the historic 107-year-old bridge, which is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its pin construction style.
The state Department of Transportation closed the deteriorating bridge six years ago, deeming it unsafe for vehicles. Beech has a $2.6 million contract to destroy the span.
Company spokesman D.J. Krapf said Beech was still “weighing its options” and waiting for the police report on the theft before commenting on the case.