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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY SOLOBAY, KASUNIC AND WARD, JANUARY 24, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION, JANUARY 24, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Designating the replacement bridge for the bridge carrying State |
2 | Route 2018 over the Monongahela River from the Borough of |
3 | North Charleroi, Washington County, to the City of Monessen, |
4 | Westmoreland County, as the Governor John K. Tener Memorial |
5 | Bridge. |
6 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
7 | hereby enacts as follows: |
8 | Section 1. Governor John K. Tener Memorial Bridge. |
9 | (a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and |
10 | declares as follows: |
11 | (1) John Kinley Tener, 1863-1946, a former congressman, |
12 | was the second of three governors elected from Washington |
13 | County. He has the distinction of being the only foreign-born |
14 | governor since the office was formed in 1790. He was born in |
15 | County Tyrone, Ireland, on July 25, 1863. He moved to |
16 | Charleroi, Washington County, on April 20, 1891, and became |
17 | the president of the First National Bank of Charleroi by |
18 | 1898. He organized the Charleroi Savings & Trust Company and |
19 | served as its secretary/treasurer, was president of the |
20 | Mercantile Bridge Company and director of the Webster- |
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1 | Monessen, Belle Vernon, Fayette City Street Railway Company |
2 | (Trolleys) and of the Westside Street Railway Company. |
3 | (2) Tener served as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1911 |
4 | to 1915 and was considered a highway czar signing into law |
5 | the "Sproul Road Bill." This law facilitated the improvement |
6 | of State roads across this Commonwealth. |
7 | (3) Among his other accomplishments, Tener, who stood 6 |
8 | feet 4 inches, was a former major league baseball player. He |
9 | started out briefly as an outfielder with the Baltimore |
10 | Orioles in 1885. He later played for the Chicago White |
11 | Stockings, now the Cubs, as a pitcher and outfielder. He had |
12 | a 7-5 record with a 2.74 ERA in 1888 and went 15-15 with a |
13 | 3.64 ERA in 1889. Tener maintained his interest in baseball |
14 | after retiring as a player. In 1912, Governor Tener spoke out |
15 | against gambling in baseball and informed district attorneys |
16 | around the State that he believed existing laws could be used |
17 | against illegal betting. In 1913, Philadelphia Phillies owner |
18 | William Baker proposed that Governor Tener become National |
19 | League president. Tener accepted the offer at a contract of |
20 | $25,000 per year but was not paid until April 1915, when his |
21 | term as Governor expired. |
22 | (4) The Charleroi-Monessen Bridge was constructed by |
23 | Tener's Mercantile Bridge Company as an early example of a |
24 | public-private partnership. The bridge was purchased by the |
25 | Commonwealth in 1949, but tolls were continued until it |
26 | became free to the public in 1956. |
27 | (5) The Charleroi-Monessen Bridge was rehabilitated |
28 | shortly after World War II and again in 1986. The bridge was |
29 | closed in mid-February 2009 after a routine inspection |
30 | revealed deterioration of a vertical panel that supports the |
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1 | middle of the bridge. A new bridge will replace the current |
2 | structure. The 24-month project will include replacing the |
3 | three truss spans and rehabilitating the approach spans at a |
4 | cost of $25,000,000 to $35,000,000. |
5 | (b) Designation.--The bridge that will replace the bridge |
6 | carrying State Route 2018 over the Monongahela River from the |
7 | Borough of North Charleroi, Washington County, to the City of |
8 | Monessen, Westmoreland County, shall be designated as the |
9 | Governor John K. Tener Memorial Bridge. |
10 | (c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall place and |
11 | maintain appropriate signs at both ends of the bridge designated |
12 | in subsection (b). |
13 | Section 2. Effective date. |
14 | This act shall take effect immediately. |
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