Skinners Falls Bridge is falling apart. Now it will be taken apart.

Faced with “imminent collapse” and dire deteriorating conditions, the Skinners Falls Bridge, which connects Pennsylvania and New York in the Upper Delaware River, will be dismantled and pieces of it stored for possible future reuse, officials said.

The announcement came as officials described at an online public meeting last week how parts of the bridge, including pieces of its railing and cross bracings, have come loose and fallen into the Delaware River.

An in-depth inspection last month found the overall structural rating of the 100-plus-year-old bridge was zero. Ratings range from nine, for a brand-new bridge, to zero for a failing bridge that should be taken out of service.

In addition to the loose components that have fallen, inspectors found deep voids in cracks with loose stones at the bridge’s wingwalls and missing lateral braces that compromise the stability of the span, said Lisa M. Brozey, vice president of transportation planning for the consulting company AECOM, who led the meeting.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the bridge needed to be dismantled in the interests of public safety, particularly for boaters and recreational users on the river who might pass beneath the span.

The costs and plans for repair, restoration or construction of a new one all remain unclear as funding still needs to be secured, multiple agencies are involved, any project needs to go through federal review under the National Environmental Protection Act and various options are still being weighed.

Noting that it’s critical that the dismantling happen before the onset of winter, officials said they aim to finish taking the bridge apart before the end of the year.

Because of its deteriorating condition, the bridge has been closed to all traffic — vehicular, pedestrian and bicyclists — since October 2019.

What happens to the pieces?

Officials at the meeting spoke of the bridge as being in a “critical situation” and a threat to recreational river users.

“With the stone abutments in jeopardy, careful disassembly is the best immediate option for the bridge’s preservation,” said Kristina Thompson, a historic preservation supervisor at PennDOT.

She said the removal of the bridge would not necessarily negate a future rehabilitation of the bridge. Each of the removed components would be inventoried, tagged and stored in a secure location to potentially be used in a future project.

PennDOT is working with a design engineer for the bridge’s disassembly, which will necessitate a large crane to move the spans, which will be loaded, wrapped and protected, onto trailers.

At the request of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the bridge’s center stone pier would be removed. It’s considered an obstruction in the river, though the stones from the pier would be stored for potential future use, Thompson said.

Read more: What is to become of the historic Skinners Falls Bridge?

History of repairs

The bridge, which is more than 466 feet long and has one lane, connects the communities of Skinners Falls, N.Y., and Milanville, Pa., over the Delaware.

It is among the oldest known bridges associated with the American Bridge Company, and features a Baltimore truss design, which is known for its short sections of additional bracing in the lower part of the truss to give it extra strength.

Built in 1901-02, the bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also considered a “contributing resource” to the Milanville Historic District and is within the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, which is managed by the National Park Service.

Beyond its historical significance, the bridge is of keen interest to business owners who cater to visitors and recreational users, such as Lou’s Tubes on the New York side of the river and the Milanville General Store.

The bridge has had two major rehabilitations, in 1974-75 and 1986, in addition to undergoing emergency repairs in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2016. It was originally constructed with a capacity of nine tons, which was reduced to seven tons in 2007, and then reduced to four tons in 2013.

Possible alternatives range from doing nothing (“bridge eventually fails”) to a full replacement, according to a report prepared by PennDOT.

Bridge preservationists have been adamant about saving the original bridge and repeatedly spoken out against any plans to potentially replace it.

Read more: Residents get the skinny on the Skinners Falls Bridge

What happens next?

A second public meeting about dismantling the bridge originally planned for Monday has been postponed because of “the complexity of the site and resources present in the area,” Brozey said in an email on Thursday.

She said that coordination among engineers and agencies was continuing and that “as soon as the team has something to share with the community, another meeting will be held.”