New bridge open but not yet done

SHOHOLA - For those who recalled PennDOT’s promise of a wider, new bridge and wondered why the new Shohola-Barryville bridge isn’t wider than the old one ... it’s because it isn’t done yet. Announcing the opening of the new bridge in late October, PennDOT reported workers were then in “the final phase of construction, which includes some finishing and abutment work on both the Pennsylvania and New York sides of the bridge.” “The bridge is not yet completed,” PennDOT spokeswoman Karen Dussinger reported on Nov. 1. “It is in stage 2, which allows us to demolish the old bridge and make room for completion of the structure. The old bridge is in the way of us completing the new bridge.” The new bridge, she added, “will have two, 12 ft. lanes and two 8 ft. shoulders. The newly opened (incomplete) bridge has just 2-11 ft. lanes.” On Nov. 28, PennDOT announced, “Temporary fencing and pedestrian walkways are still in place as second phase continues on both the Pennsylvania and New York sides of the bridge. Demolition of the old bridge has begun with the razing of the first span, allowing for completion of the rest of the new bridge to begin within the next several weeks.” Work is done, weather permitting, and subject to change, and the agency estimates completion by winter 2006.