Skinners Falls Bridge

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PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT Hosting a Virtual Public Meeting for the Skinners Falls Bridge PEL Study  (For some reason, this link is currently linking to the notice that the bridge was closed on October 18, 2019.)

PennDOT - District 4 News
PennDOT Hosting a Virtual Public Meeting for the Skinners Falls Bridge PEL Study

​Dunmore, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 4-0, together with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Region 9, is preparing a planning study for the Skinners Falls Bridge.

The Skinners Falls Bridge crosses the Delaware River, connecting the communities of Milanville, PA and Skinners Falls, NY. It was closed due to safety concerns in October 2019. PennDOT is completing a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study to identify potential alternatives that could be evaluated and determine a path forward. The study represents a collaborative and integrated approach that will consider community, environmental, historic, and economic goals. PennDOT and NYSDOT are seeking input from the community to better understand how to move forward to meet local transportation needs within realistically available financial resources.

PennDOT will be hosting a virtual public meeting on March 30th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm and accepting public comment on its website from March 30th through April 23rd.

You can attend the public meeting by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/SFBridge.  For toll free audio-only access to the virtual meeting, please call (877) 286-5733 and enter ID: 431 695 078#.

You can view project materials and take an online survey by visiting the PennDOT District 4-0 website at: https://www.penndot.gov/RegionalOffices/district-4/PublicMeetings/Wayne County/Pages/default.aspx

If you have any questions, or would like to request a paper survey please contact the project hotline at (610) 234-5148 or Skinnersfallsbridge@aecom.com.

Work on this project will be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Health guidance as well as a project-specific COVID-19 safety plan, which may include protocols for social distancing, use of face coverings, personal and job-site cleaning protocols, management of entries to the jobsite, and relevant training.

To help make decisions regarding winter travel, motorists are encouraged to "Know Before You Go" by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. Users can also see plow truck statuses and travel alerts along a specific route using the "Check My Route" tool.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties at www.penndot.gov/District4. Information about infrastructure in District 4, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.gov/D4Results.

For more information on safe winter travel, an emergency kit checklist and information on PennDOT's winter operations including a video, visit www.PennDOT.gov/winter. Additional winter driving and other highway safety information is available at www.PennDOT.gov/safety.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Kalinoski, 570.963.4044

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PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT to Perform Emergency Bridge Repairs to the Skinners Falls Bridge on Route 1002 in Wayne County

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PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT Announces Virtual Public Meeting to Discuss Next Steps for the Skinners Falls Bridge on Route 1002 in Wayne County

After a recent in-depth bridge inspection, it was determined that out of an abundance of caution, the Skinners Falls bridge, which carries Route 1002 over the Delaware River in Wayne County, must be dismantled in the interest of public safety, specifically for Delaware River boating and recreational traffic. The bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since 2019.

PennDOT will work with our federal and state agency partners, along with those in New York, to begin dismantling the bridge this calendar year, as it is critical that the bridge be removed before the onset of winter.

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PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT Releases Skinners Falls Bridge in Wayne County Meeting Presentation Held on November 14, 2024

Dunmore, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) held a meeting regarding the Skinners Falls Bridge on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 2:00 PM. The meeting was a recorded virtual Microsoft Teams meeting. The video can be found by going to the Skinners Falls Bridge web page. A question and answer session was held after the presentation. The questions and answers are part of the video recording. The list of questions received is also posted as a PDF and is on the web page for review.

PennDOT provided paper comment forms at the National Park Service (NPS) offices, Damascus Township, and the Town of Cochecton if residents would like to provide written comments.

In lieu of attendance by PennDOT at the Township meeting tonight, PennDOT will provide a brief update to Damascus Township for the Board to read at the Township meeting.

After a recent in-depth bridge inspection, it was determined that out of an abundance of caution, the Skinners Falls bridge, which carries Route 1002 over the Delaware River in Wayne County, must be dismantled in the interest of public safety, specifically for Delaware River boating and recreational traffic. The bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since 2019.

PennDOT is working with our federal and state agency partners, along with those in New York, to begin dismantling the bridge this calendar year, as it is critical that the bridge be removed before the onset of winter.

Information about the Skinners Falls Bridge can be found on the PennDOT website.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.

Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District4.

Information about infrastructure in District 4, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/D4Results. Find PennDOT's planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.

Find PennDOT news on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

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PennDOT - District 4 News: PennDOT will Host a Public Meeting to Provide an Update on the Dismantling of the Skinners Falls Bridge on Route 1002 in Wayne County

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A CE Expert System entry has been added for the bridge removal.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Yeah I don't see any way this doesn't come down. I wrote about this mess on my blog last night, but doing more research this afternoon, this is almost a move for move repeat of the Lordville–Equinunk Bridge dilemma from 1984 to 1986.

1. Movement in a pier on one side of the river. This occurred with the Equinunk side of that bridge, where the soils in the Pennsylvania side caused movement in the abutment. This resulted in the bridge beginning to sag toward the river. With Skinners Falls–Milanville, the bridge is moving and the noticeable crack in the New York abutment is a serious concern.

2. A DOT shuts the bridge down but does absolutely nothing to prevent further deterioration. With Lordville–Equinunk, the bridge was shut on February 28, 1984, but allowed for unofficial pedestrian use (Though NYSDOT didn't want this). Meanwhile, no one at PennDOT or NYSDOT puts anything into fixing this problem, and the bridge continues to deteriorate until oops, there's an announcement by a DOT that the bridge is coming down. This has been the case with Skinners Falls–Milanville since October 16, 2019, except with PennDOT and not NYSDOT.

3. A preventable sign of deterioration from deferred maintenance appears. With Lordville–Equinunk, the bridge continued to sink closer to the Delaware River while the bridge's Pennsylvania abutment continued to move. Also, suspension towers on the Pennsylvania side continued to separate further and further, causing the deck to sag. With Skinners Falls–Milanville, the brace falling into the river below from the bridge was that point.

4. Accusations of neglect and deferred maintenance are thrown at the Department of Transportation. With the Lordville–Equinunk, NYSDOT took a lot of heat for not doing anything to stop the continued degradation of the bridge and inconveniencing locals. (A 200yd drive became 32mi.) The same applies with the Skinners Falls–Milanville and this time it's PennDOT getting the heat, from the Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and the Upper Delaware Council. "Why haven't you done shit to get the bridge fixed in this time period? Why are we wasting money on studies?" Both bridges had studies done in this time period to determine the future of the bridge, but the Lordville–Equinunk Bridge failed before studies could be finished.

5. The bridge is demolished on emergency contract. This occurred with the Lordville–Equinunk Bridge, with the bid being awarded on November 4, 1986 and the bridge demolished on the 24th. Skinners Falls–Milanville doesn't have a date yet, though Gov. Shapiro already announced the emergency order. My gut says we may not see the demolition anytime soon. Between the weather and I wonder if a judge might halt the order, it's possible that unlike the Lordville–Equinunk, which NYSDOT speculated would collapse on its own in the spring of 1987, the Skinners Falls–Milanville might reach the spring of 2025 and collapse into the river on its own, or be demolished.

Either way, this is not fun when history is close to repeating itself 35 years later. (No, history technically does not repeat itself, but the names do change and the problems are often similar, as are the results.)