The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) demolished half of the historic Skinners Falls Bridge on Thursday, April 17.
Skinners Falls is a Baltimore truss bridge that connected Milanville, Pa., and Skinners Falls, New York, over the Delaware River. Advocates from both communities fought for nearly six years to protect the bridge, which is listed twice in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
PennDOT closed Skinners Falls to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic in Oct. 2019 after finding structural damage. On Dec. 16, Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an emergency order to remove the bridge after PennDOT and the New York Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) received eyewitness accounts of pieces of the bridge falling into the water.
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Delaware River Watershed, and local activist Cynthia Nash filed a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Sean Duffy, secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, on April 8 to save the bridge.
The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania because Skinners Falls is an interstate bridge, and its demolition is part of a project funded by the FHWA.
U.S. District Court Judge Karoline Mehalchick ruled against the federal injunction late Tuesday night. PennDOT removed the New York abutment of the bridge earlier today. At Friday’s court hearing, engineers with the FWHA said the bridge, particularly the New York portion, was in danger of imminent collapse and posed a risk to human lives.
Officials at the scene on Thursday said they do not have a timeline to remove the Pennsylvania side of the bridge. According to a PennDOT press release published today, road detours to cross the Delaware River will continue to be on the road for around two months.
Also, access to nearby Delaware River boat launches will be limited. The closest available boat launch is the PA Fish and Boat Launch Narrowsburg River Access at Beach Lake, PA 18405.
New York State Police added they have seen several people trespassing in the construction area on the New York side of the bridge. Officials ask people to stay away from the active construction area as heavy machinery needs to pass through the connecting Skinners Falls Road.
