DCS has been working with Greenworks, our environmental attorney, and Wrought Iron Bridge Works, experts in the restoration of historic bridges, to come up with a plan to save the Skinners Falls Bridge.

DCS has sent the following letter to PennDOT, outlining a safe, cost effective and non-destructive solution to the current concerns about the Skinners Falls bridge.
Download the DCS letter as a pdf, including list of attachments
Download WIBW’s recommendations as a pdf
Download the DCS Press Release on our plan to save the Skinners Falls Bridge

Stabilization and Rehabilitation Recommendations for Skinners Falls Bridge from Wrought Iron Bridge Works

Offered by Damascus Citizens for Sustainability

Enclosed is a package of material from Wrought Iron Bridge Works (“WIBW”) that identifies how the Skinners Falls Bridge can be stabilized, and done in a way that is non-destructive, and less costly than the proposed demolition. Wrought Iron Bridge Works also has the capabilities and expertise to restore the entirety of the Skinners Falls Bridge in phases, which will spread out funding needs and reduce impact on recreation.

WIBW’s team can stabilize the bridge faster than it can be destroyed, meaning that the “emergency” can be dealt with faster with the way WIBW is proposing.

Why? Because of the techniques they use, the team does not need to, for instance: get extensive permits for waterway work, or for disturbing freshwater mussels or archeological resources, or otherwise jump through as many regulatory hoops that PennDOT has to because PennDOT is proposing a significant disturbance to the ecological, archeological, and historical resources of the area.

Once stabilization occurs, we must have a discussion and commitment to full rehabilitation. Such discussions may include ownership changes that, if the agencies support rehabilitation, may open up funds that are presently either unavailable or not being used.

As it stands, PennDOT’s conduct in circumventing the Section 106 process, and its history of neglect of the Skinners Falls Bridge, threatens to cut off funding for the bridge demolition because 54 U.S.C. § 306113 prevents disbursement of federal funds in instances such as these. In addition, PennDOT still has no plan for what will come after demolition, leaving the river communities in danger of being cut off from each other.

PennDOT’s attempt to secure funding to destroy the bridge shows that funding can be found – just not through their normal channels.

PennDOT has been applying a modern infrastructure perspective – which the system is designed for, and PennDOT is good at – to this historic bridge. Instead, because this is a historic bridge context, PennDOT needs niche experts like WIBW that have experience with how to correctly evaluate the current condition of the bridge, and to develop strategies to address its specific challenges.

This proposal is an attempt to avoid all parties from continuing to butt heads, and instead, provide a path forward for (1) bridge stabilization, (2) a commitment to full rehabilitation, and (3) related support needs – all of which will save public money in the long run, retain tourism, reduce environmental/archeological/historic impact, ensure that river communities remain connected, and that the valuable historic resource of the Skinners Falls Bridge remains for future generations.

Mr. Suckewer can and is willing to talk to agencies about this, and he already has been. We need those meetings to be arranged and for a holistic solution to be advanced, instead of the continued slog toward demolition that creates more problems than it solves.