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Seven years ago the Cross Street bridge was deemed unsafe for vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Located between Cedar Springs Road and Jefferson Street in Mifflintown borough, the bridge served as one of two routes to the library. The other route, by Washington Avenue and Cross Street, is a tight turn for right/left turns.
Now that the Cross Street bridge is back open, traffic is freed up to visit the library, go to and from the district schools on either side of Cedar Springs Road and allow for easy access for large vehicles (delivery trucks, emergency services, etc.)
I remember when the bridge closed. I knew that bridge replacement projects took a long time and cost a lot of money. What I didn't expect was for it to take seven years, most of which without any work being done to replace it.
I often worried about those living on Meadow Lane. If an emergency blocked them from getting out on the other end of Cross Street, they would be stuck. For their sake I am especially glad the bridge is back open.
This street is a borough street. Many bridges fall on state roads, which are then maintained by PennDOT. This was a large undertaking by a small municipality, made possible by grants from our previous state legislators John Hershey and Jake Corman.
I have since driven over the bridge for no reason other than to drive on it. Please do the same and visit the library while you are at it.
Book of the week!
If you are going to read one book, give this one a try...
Conflict: The Evolution of
Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine by David Petraeus and Andrew
Roberts
(New adult nonfiction: military history, international relations) ~ 544 pages
In a nutshell: The progress of modern warfare from 1945 to the present and into the future.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to rage, with ongoing reporting drawn to the increasingly sophisticated warfare maneuvers executed from the military on both sides, this conflict serves as a touchstone for authors, and this book is particularly timely. Petraeus, a global affairs specialist and retired Army general, and noted historian Roberts, author of Leadership in War and Master and Commanders, judiciously trace how modern warfare has progressed since 1945 through the present moment, and they set forth the possible implications of the Russian-Ukrainian war for global conflicts in the future. They closely examine key battles that contributed to this evolution--"such as in tactical concepts, or a crucial new weapon, or when defense became superior to offense (or vice versa)"--and consider a future that will likely entail cyber warfare and AI. The authors explore the Korean War, Vietnam, the two Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as where the U.S. had less or no direct involvement: Indo-China, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Balkan wars in former Yugoslavia, and brutal guerrilla wars in South African countries such as Rwanda. Petraeus and Roberts analyze the failures, achievements, and the lessons learned, emphasizing why the need for effective leadership at the strategic level "is absolutely critical--and can, in many cases, determine the outcome of a conflict." As examples, they cite Moshe Dayan's command of the Six-Day War in 1967 and Volodymyr Zelensky's leadership in Ukraine. On the flip side, the authors show when a leader's ego can lead to disastrous outcomes--e.g., Putin's hubris in expecting a swift invasion of Ukraine. The authors' conclusions may spark debate among some military strategists, but their arguments are consistently well grounded and based on vast experience.
Bottom line: A must-read for military historians and strategists.
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Vince Giordano has been the librarian and director of the Juniata County Library since 2015.