After pushing for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to reconsider its plans to destroy the Skinners Falls Bridge, local advocate group Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS) have proposed to take matters into their own hands by acquiring and restoring the bridge themselves by purchasing the bridge for $1 from PennDOT. 

Under the terms of DCS’s proposal, in exchange for the $1 purchase, PennDOT would give DCS full responsibility and liability for the bridge, as well as a sum of money equal to the estimated costs of the bridge's rehabilitation, an amount DCS pegs at $16 million. 

"The proposed destruction of Skinner's Fall[s] Bridge must be halted, and bridge rehabilitation finally made a priority. This is what the community wants," said DCS Director Barbara Arrindell. 

At the time of publication, PennDOT has not yet responded to the offer. However, statements PennDOT has made throughout the planning process make it seem unlikely that the department will agree to the proposal. 

"Transfer of ownership would require legislative action," reads one comment from PennDOT, responding to public questions raised at a February 11 meeting about the project. "Due to the condition of the bridge and the concern for the safety of recreational river traffic, PennDOT needs to move forward with the emergency project without delay." 

Deterioration and demolition

The Skinners Falls Bridge, a historic truss bridge constructed in 1902, spans the Delaware River between Skinners Falls, NY and Milanville, PA. It was closed to vehicle traffic in 2019, with PennDOT determining it was no longer safe for cars and trucks to cross. 

Now, over five years later, the bridge has deteriorated to the point where it is at risk of an "impending uncontrolled collapse," according to PennDOT. The department plans to take it down before it can collapse on its own, for the safety of people and natural resources around it; its current proposal means the bridge will be scrapped, with no possibility of historic re-use or preservation. 

DCS' proposal to assume ownership of the bridge presupposes that the bridge can still be restored, not destroyed. PennDOT "absolutely" is forcing the demolition through because it wants to tear down the bridge, Arrindell told the River Reporter. 

There's only one bridge like the Skinners Falls Bridge left in the local area—the Tanners Falls Bridge, a multi-span metal truss bridge built in 1885 over the West Branch of the Dyberry Creek. 

Arrindell says that's because PennDOT wants to take these historic bridges down, and contrasts Pennsylvania's approach to that taken in Indiana, a state which has much more of its historic bridges left standing. 

PennDOT's responses to people saying the bridge can still be saved all boil down to the same thing, Arrindell said: "'We say it can't be done, and we're the experts,' and it doesn't go beyond that."

PennDOT continues to defend its analysis of the bridge's condition against public protest. 

"As determined by multiple bridge inspections, the structure is in danger of impending uncontrolled collapse… PennDOT's main concern is an uncontrolled collapse of the structure that could harm life, property and natural resources, and removal in the fastest method possible is the way to prevent that from happening," reads a PennDOT response. 

PennDOT says the New York abutment—the foundation supporting the end of the bridge showed deterioration to the point of failure in an October 2024 inspection, and that a January follow-up from an outside agency showed continued deterioration from that point. 

DCS previously sent PennDOT a proposal to preserve the bridge. PennDOT rejected it, saying DCS' proposed approach "cannot be implemented for a bridge of this size within the time available." In PennDOT's analysis, stabilizing the bridge and rehabilitating it on-site "would take years to complete," and would involve closing the river down for an extended period of time. 

While DCS disagrees with PennDOT's assessment, PennDOT has continued to move forward with the proposed destruction of the bridge. 

Editor's note: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has since responded to DCS' proposal, saying that it is 'unworkable' and that the department needs to move ahead with the bridge's emergency removal. Click here for more info.