A compromise appears to have been reached between those who want to tear down and those who want to repair the historic Pond Eddy Bridge.

The NY-PA Joint Interstate Bridge Commission recently approved capital construction and maintenance plans for the single-lane, 104-year-old bridge, which has been a hot-button issue for preservation groups like the "Friends of the Pond Eddy Bridge," who are opposed to replacing it.

The plan has been in limbo for several years as environmental studies are conducted and a compromise is sought.

A design committee will give interested parties input into the design of the new bridge. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has also offered to turn over ownership of the bridge to anyone capable of relocating it, but so far there have been no takers.

The tab for the project, which they hope to start by 2010, is estimated at $12 million.

The commission scheduled bids for 2013 for the contract on a new bridge from Callicoon to Damascus, Pa., with an estimated price tag of $11.6 million. A rehab alternative for the 47-year-old bridge is also being investigated. About $48,700 was spent last year to seal localized wearing areas on the deck and do other maintenance and minor repairs.

A capital repair project is also scheduled to begin in 2012 on the Port Jervis to Matamoras, Pa., bridge, for $1.8 million.

Sarah Koenig

Times Herald Record, July 2, 2008

link is here:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/COMM/806030318