SKINNERS FALLS, NY — The comment period for the Milanville-Skinners Falls Bridge draft Purpose and Need document, originally set to close on Saturday, January 8, has been extended until Monday, February 7. The document will guide the process through which the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will consider various alternatives for repairing or replacing the bridge.

In a letter sent on December 18, the Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS), an activist group and a consulting partner for the bridge, requested that PennDOT extend the public comment period or withdraw the draft document. DCS stated that the draft document failed to incorporate the public’s most significant concerns, such as historical preservation, and elevated matters on which the public placed little importance, such as large truck or trailer usage. The group added that “placing the comment period for such a crucial document over the Christmas and New Year holidays strongly gives the appearance that PennDOT seeks to squelch public and agency comment on the draft statement.”

While PennDOT has not indicated publically the reasoning behind the change, DCS Director Barbara Arrindell has said that the change comes following a number of calls from her organization and from the community at large.

Click here for more coverage of the Skinners Falls Bridge.