NARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council strongly supports traditional rehabilitation for the 1902 Skinners Falls bridge. It’s calling for the study period to be speeded up to prevent further deterioration and rising costs.

The UDC said in a statement that its members decided to support the traditional route after reviewing the draft Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study for the interstate bridge, which connects Damascus Township, PA, and the Town of Cochecton, NY.

The UDC calls for an accelerated study period to prevent further deterioration and rising costs.

The plan UDC supports is rehabilitating the bridge to a 10-ton weight limit. It would preserve the bridge’s historic character while complying with standards. The UDC says eliminating unnecessary enhancements and exploring additional funding sources will keep costs down.

This plan is the most in line with public opinion and the bridge’s significance. The council says the bridge’s pin-connected Baltimore through-truss design is historically and technologically important, and so merits preservation. The PA State Historic Preservation Office rates the preservation priority level of this bridge as “exceptional,” the council notes. It points to the Kellams, NY-Stalker, PA, bridge that serves as a precedent for preserving a single-lane Upper Delaware River crossing.

“The activities associated with the bridge’s use meld with our countryside daily living and recreational pursuits that are disrupted by its closure, such as people crossing it for work, shopping, daycare, church, scenic drives, and visits to the circa 1850 Milanville General Store, the National Park Service Milanville Ranger Office, the NYS DEC Skinners Falls River Access, Lander’s River Trips Skinners Falls Campground and Lou’s Tubes,” says the UDC.

See related story, “Preserve history, say Skinners bridge advocates."