NY-PA Joint Interstate Bridge Commission approves nearly $20 million for major rehabilitations to Upper Delaware River crossings

The New York-Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission approved nearly $20 million to complete major rehabilitations of the Callicoon, NY-Damascus, PA and Port Jervis, NY-Matamoras, PA Bridges, while taking no action on any potential future replacement of the demolished Skinners Falls, NY-Milanville, PA Bridge.

The commission held its annual meeting on May 13 at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation headquarters in Dunmore to review capital expenditures, inspection findings, and maintenance work for the nine remaining Upper Delaware River bridges under their jurisdiction.

Project overview

Approved was $11,550,000 for the Callicoon-Damascus Bridge and $8,360,000 for the Port Jervis-Matamoras Bridge, totaling $19,910,000 that will be equally split between PA and NY under the April 1, 2026-March 31, 2027 budget.

After awarding the $17,859,059 contract to refurbish the 1961 Callicoon, NY-Damascus, PA Bridge to Bette & Cring LLC of Latham, NY on March 28, 2024 and starting work that fall, November 2027 was the targeted completion in consideration of keeping one lane of traffic flowing, except for requiring up to six 24-48-hour temporary detours to pour the new concrete lanes.

However, after crews kept working throughout this past winter, the project appears to be ahead of schedule.

“The contractor is motivated to try to get everything done to be substantially complete this year,” said NYS DOT Regional Structures Engineer Jacob Hamlin.

Remaining repairs to steel members will take place in late July, normal traffic patterns are anticipated to resume by late August, then the contractor will return next spring for final touch-ups, Hamlin added.

NYS DOT Region 9 has announced that the bridge’s next closure to vehicular traffic would be on May 19 at 10 a.m., weather permitting. Pedestrian and bicycle access is unaffected. The motorist detour may last up to 48 hours. May 27 and 28 are back-up closure dates.

In 2021, the commission had approved $2,212,000 to design the major upgrade to the Callicoon-Damascus Bridge.

Replacement of the open steel grid deck with lightweight concrete and other work on the 1939 Port Jervis, NY-Matamoras, PA Bridge that is under PennDOT’s supervision is projected to fully wrap up in October of 2026.

JD Eckman of Atglen, Pa., won that July 2024 contract to be conducted in three phases while maintaining traffic flow. Westbound Phase 2 is due to finish in three weeks. Phase 3, consisting of replacing stringers and finalizing the new deck, should end in early June.

The total project cost was tagged at approximately $14.55 million for superstructure and substructure work as of last year. In 2024, the Commission had approved $5,899,000 to repair the bridge’s steel members.

No plans to replace demolished 1902 Skinners Falls, NY-Milanville, PA Bridge

No capital project plans were on the agenda for the former 1902 Skinners Falls, NY-Milanville, PA Bridge, which was intentionally knocked down in April 2025. It had been closed to all uses since October 2019 following an emergency inspection.

After initial plans announced on Nov. 14, 2024 to dismantle and salvage the bridge’s components for potential re-use, PennDOT secured a Dec. 16, 2024 declaration from PA Governor Josh Shapiro stating that the agency had “identified an emergent need to remove the bridge” for public safety. An independent analysis rated its substructure as “failed” and the superstructure in critical condition.

The cost for the bridge’s demolition was $5,024,946.

Since 2020, the commission had authorized spending $4,774,476 for a Planning and Environmental Linkages study to evaluate options (typically repair, replace, or remove) as required by the bridge’s 1988 National Register of Historic Places listing.

That study, updated in Sept. 2025 to reflect the bridge’s loss, cited a lack of available funding and a low cost-benefit analysis ratio to currently advance a replacement scenario estimated to cost anywhere from $13-$28.5 million depending on design options and alignments.

All that remains of the rare ornamental truss, single-lane, timber-decked bridge is one abutment in Milanville, Pa., for which a custom railing was fabricated and installed.

Originally conceived to serve as a scenic river overlook, that project status is now in question due to a federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act best management practice to completely remove abutments, piers, and foundations if the associated bridge no longer exists to restore the property to a natural state. The development is also subject to a potential legal challenge by an adjacent property owner.

An on-site meeting will take place in mid-June for federal and state consulting parties to discuss the cultural resources adverse effects mitigation Memorandum of Agreement which had been put on hold in January for re-evaluation of the expanded project scope.

Bridge inspections occurred on April 14, with reports given on the deficiencies observed, work performed, and 2026 plans.

The commissioners earmarked $44,000 for general maintenance and snow & ice control, compared to the $46,622 spent in 2025-26.