Bridge damage forces Pond Eddy residents to walk

By Anya Tikka
POND EDDY — The Pond Eddy Bridge remains closed after a tri-axle dump truck crashed into it on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The truck was coming down a steep hill on Route 41 in New York when it lost its brakes. The driver wasn't hurt in the accident.

The bridge, which spans the Delaware River, connects a dozen or so residences in Pond Eddy in Shohola Township, Pa., with Pond Eddy in Lumberland, N.Y. It's their only access to the outside world. The bridges joins Route 97, Route 41 and Hollow Road on New York side of the river.

Residents on the Pennsylvania side must leave their cars in a public parking spot on the New York side, or in one of two restaurant parking lots near the bridge. They then walk over the bridge to be picked up by cars meeting them at the other end. Or they walk all the way home, carrying their belongings with them.

There are two dead-end roads on the Pennsylvania side, Flagstone Road (State Route 1011) and Rosa Road.

In an online posting, James MaDunmore of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says damage to the bridge is significant enough to warrant its closure until further repairs can be made.

The bridge is scheduled to be replaced under a contract going out to bid this spring. The historic nature of the bridge has made its removal controversial. A grassroots effort to preserve it failed.