Latest News

Caption: The NY span of the 1902 Skinners Falls-Milanville Bridge was mechanically demolished on April 17, as seen from the Pennsylvania shore. The PA span was dropped into the river on April 21. (UDC Photo by Kerry Engelhardt)

By Laurie Ramie,
Upper Delaware Council

RIVER VALLEY – Following the recent demolition of the 123-year-old Skinners Falls, NY-Milanville, PA Bridge, the New York-Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission reported that the study of “preferred alternatives” for that location will continue.

The Commission held its annual meeting on May 21 to discuss inspection findings, review maintenance work, and approve expenditures for the 10 – now nine – Upper Delaware River crossings under their jurisdiction.

All that remains of the 1902 Skinners Falls Bridge is the abutment in Milanville, PA.

Citing an emergency need to prevent an uncontrolled collapse into the river due to deterioration of the bridge that had been closed to all traffic since October 2019, the 467-foot-long ornamental steel truss single lane timber decked bridge was deliberately destroyed without the originally announced plan to detonate explosives.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) contractor JD Eckman Inc. mobilized a crew on March 10 to fortify local access roads and construct a temporary causeway that extended 120 feet from Skinners Falls half-way across the river.

Machinery knocked the NY span down onto that stone platform on April 17. Four days later, the PA span was dropped into the river and dragged onto the causeway, before its parts were similarly cut up with hydraulic shears and hauled off-site. The causeway was dismantled on May 6; the NY abutment was down by May 7. The PA abutment will become an overlook.

As of the Commission’s meeting date, the contractor was doing “clean-up work” and expected to demobilize by May 30, with a potential need to return for minor site restoration and riverbank plantings. PennDOT’s secured federal permit set a May 25 deadline to clear the site.

Demolition Rationale

PennDOT obtained a declaration from PA Governor Josh Shapiro on Dec. 16, 2024 stating that the agency had “identified an emergent need to remove the bridge” after an October 2024 inspection, upheld by a January 2025 independent analysis, rated the bridge’s superstructure to be in critical condition (2) and the substructure as failed (0).

The demolition, which had switched from an announced November 14, 2024 plan to dismantle the bridge and salvage its parts for potential reuse, was delayed for a week by a federal lawsuit that Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and Milanville resident Cynthia Nash filed.

U.S. District Court Judge Karoline Mehalchick ruled against their injunction request on April 15 after hearing arguments in Scranton, stating, “Expert testimony supports that the bridge’s seemingly inevitable collapse would endanger life, property and the environment, and thus the public. Delaying the bridge’s demolition exacerbates these issues, especially considering the busy summer season which will soon bring many visitors to the Delaware River area.”

The National Park Service had closed the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River segment between Damascus and Skinners Falls on April 7 until reopening it on May 2.

Prior to the emergency action, the bridge had been the subject of a Planning and Environmental Linkages Study to investigate its future options (typically repair, replace, or remove) for which the Commission had authorized $4,152,500 since 2020.

That paused study, which is required due to the former bridge’s 1988 National Register of Historic Places listing for its engineering and cultural significance, will resume with another $621,976 allocated on May 21.

The Commission also approved $5,024,946 for the Skinners Falls-Milanville Bridge’s removal in its capital projects vote, with those costs to be equally split by PA and NY.

Capital Projects

Other expenditures approved under the April 1, 2025-March 31, 2026 budget are $14.3 million for rehabilitation of the 1939 Port Jervis, NY-Matamoras, PA Bridge superstructure plus $250,000 for its substructure (bid separately due to the timeline to obtain permits); and another $8.8 million for rehabilitation of the 1961 Callicoon, NY-Damascus, PA Bridge.

JD Eckman of Atglen, PA won the July 2024 contract to replace the open grate steel deck on the State Route 6 (Pennsylvania Ave) two-span Port Jervis-Matamoras structure with a reinforced concrete deck. Preparatory work is underway to install a containment system for blast cleaning and painting operations that will take up to six months to complete. Concurrently, traffic control for the deck installation will begin in June, with two lanes of traffic to be maintained at all times. Phases 1 and 2 will finish this year, with Phase 3 scheduled in 2026. Last year, the Commission had approved $5,899,000 for this bridge’s steel member repairs.

The contract for the Callicoon-Damascus Bridge rehabilitation was awarded on March 28, 2024 to Bette & Cring LLC of Latham, NY based on their bid of $17,859,059. Previously in 2021, the Commission had approved $2,212,000 to design the major upgrade.

Half of the deck has now been removed and the contractor is currently performing steel repairs to the girders. They anticipate beginning to pour sections of the concrete deck in June or July, with traffic to be shifted over to the new lane this November. Weather permitting, they will demolish the other side of the deck over the winter, continue to replace it in 2026, and intend to resume normal traffic patterns by that fall. Final upgrade work and painting will occur in 2027.

The total amount approved for capital projects was $28,996,922.

Inspections and Maintenance

All 10 bridges were inspected on April 2, with notes taken of the deficiencies observed and photos displayed during a PowerPoint presentation.

The Commissioners earmarked $44,000 for snow and ice control and general maintenance of the nine bridges, compared to the $58,232 spent during that 2024-25 timeframe.

The other Upper Delaware River interstate bridges and the dates of their establishment or most recent major rebuilds are the Pond Eddy, NY-Pond Eddy, PA Bridge (2018), Barryville, NY-Shohola, PA Bridge (2006), Narrowsburg, NY-Darbytown, PA (2018), Cochecton, NY-Damascus, PA Bridge (2024), Kellams, NY-Stalker, PA Bridge (2018), Lordville, NY-Equinunk PA Bridge (1992), and Hancock, NY-Buckingham, PA Bridge (1937).