Century-old bridge will be replaced

Pond eddy — PennDOT apparently ended a decade of controversy Wednesday with a statement announcing that the historic Pond Eddy Bridge will be replaced. The PennDOT statement did not include any detail about the exact location or configuration of a replacement bridge, only that construction access would take place on the N.Y. shore. The 504-foot, single-lane Pond Eddy Bridge provides the only access for the owners of some 26 properties on the Pennsylvania shore, but its eight-ton posted weight limit is too low for emergency vehicles and service trucks to cross. Built in 1904, the bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. Over the last year, PennDOT hired three additional consulting teams to further evaluate the strength of the existing Pond Eddy interstate bridge, possible backwater issues (flooding), and “constructability” challenges (see sidebar). The studies came in response to public concerns, particularly those with the goal of preserving the existing Pond Eddy Bridge. Based on the results, PennDOT has determined that the replacement option is the only viable option to provide a river crossing connecting the communities of Lumberland and Pond Eddy. The National Park Service, which oversees recreation on the Delaware River, was consulted during this time and will be further consulted during final design. Since the inception of the project, a comprehensive report which documents the rationale and reasoning of all the options for rehabilitating, versus replacement of the bridge, has not been completed. The public, as well as the DOT decision-makers, requested that a report be compiled that would contain all of this information for easy reference. Skelly and Loy, Inc. is compiling a “Project Development Report.” The Report is to include the different engineering, environmental and cultural studies completed to date and provide the justification towards making a final decision in one consolidated source for information. PennDOT’s intention is to have the report available to the public in April. The agency will be coordinating with the local officials and other involved parties to arrange a consulting-party meeting in April or May. There they plan to deliver and review the report and announce the next steps. A meeting time and place will be announced. With the replacement option, a Memorandum of Agreement will be created to document commitments to mitigate for adverse effects. The various consulting parties will be instrumental in creating the agreement, the agency statement said. The draft agreement will be discussed at the meeting, along with the creation of a Design Advisory Committee of local representatives that will help provide architectural input related to the DOT’s design of the new bridge. According to the engineers The engineering firm of Michael Baker, Jr. completed a review of the structural integrity of the existing Pond Eddy Bridge, including a review of the numerous bridge inspections reports, loading analyses, and previous engineering studies, to determine the feasibility of rehabilitating the existing structure to meet modern legal carrying capacity and design loads. Michael Baker, Jr.’s analysis concurred with the previous engineering studies which concluded that the existing structure could not be rehabilitated to meet legal load-carrying capacity and design loads. NTM Engineering, as a sub-consultant to Erdman Anthony, Inc., updated the hydrologic and hydraulic model for the Delaware River in the project area and determined that a proposed replacement option would not result in an increase in the local flooding along the Delaware River or the adjacent tributary, Mill Brook. They used a worse-case analysis of a three-pier, four-span bridge; however, the final appearance of the bridge is yet to be determined. Due to the mountainous terrain, which could limit the size of beams that could be brought in to the area, steep banks, the depth of the Delaware River, among many other constraints, Erdman Anthony, Inc., in conjunction with Urban Engineers, evaluated the constructability issues. They found that construction access would need to be made from the New York side of the river and construction could occur using a causeway. Details regarding river access for construction will be coordinated during the final design phase of the project.