Construction of Pond Eddy bridge begins; new span to open in 2018

BY ANYA TIKKA
POND EDDY — Construction of the new Pond Eddy Bridge off Pennsylvania’s Shohola side’s Rosas Switch Road and Flagstone Roads, and New York State Route 97 has started. Construction equipment has been moved to the site daily for days, and construction crews are starting the work. Route 97 on New York side, the only access road to Shohola residents via the existing bridge, is blocked on alternate sides at times for 2-lane traffic on a short stretch near the construction.
The bridge plans have seen several transformations, from local grassroots and environmental opposition in early stages, to rumors about a large-scale interstate bridge, to the current design of a one-lane, two-truss design, similar to the existing, old bridge.
SAI Consulting Engineers of Lemoyne, PA gave an extensive exhibition and information meeting earlier in the year in Shohola Town Hall, with a model of the new bridge, timeline, and other info to residents. The existing, historic bridge will be taken down, and has not found any buyers although it was listed for sale, and the new bridge will be built about 65 feet from it.
The construction will be in stages, starting from New York side when a rock causeway will be built half way across the river, and then the same will be repeated from Pennsylvania side. The existing bridge will stay open for residents during this whole time.
Once the two sides of the new bridge under construction meet in the middle of the Delaware River, the rest of bridge construction will be finished, and finally, the old bridge taken down. The last estimate was the bridge wouldn’t be open until end of year 2018.
The two-stage construction is necessary to keep the water flowing for environmental, and fishing purposes, as well as recreational use for visitors to the area, in heavy use during the summer months.
Freshwater mussels were found in the early stages of the project, and they had to be moved, although they were not an endangered species. Historic D & H canal remains run next to the river, and an archeologist will be at hand during the construction.
The cost estimate has been about $13.3 million, to be shared between Pennsylvania and New York.
The new bridge will closely resemble the old one, with taupe color and material made to look like the historic bluestone once mined in the area.