:Pond Eddy Bridge

File:Erie track at Pond Eddy Pennsylvania.jpg tracks, now part of the Norfolk Southern system, run along the ridge on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge, paralleling the river and the local road below it.]]

Settlement around Pond Eddy was triggered by the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which was constructed in the 1820s. The Erie Railroad, on the Pennsylvania side, also contributed to the community's growth. After Pond Eddy continued to grow in both states, local officials decided a bridge should be erected to connect the two communities. The new bridge would make it easier to ship bluestone, slate and lumber via the railroad. In 1870 a new bridge was funded with taxpayer money, and the Town of Lumberland helped build the new Pond Eddy Bridge. The new bridge was a wire-rope suspension bridge, similar to those used by John Augustus Roebling. James D. Decker, then the Sullivan County sheriff and former Lumberland town supervisor was hired to supervise the construction of the bridge.{{citation-needed|date=August 2024}} He lived so close to the bridge site that it was soon nicknamed "Decker's Bridge". When finished, the new bridge was {{convert|521|ft|m}} long and {{convert|12|ft|m}} wide, enough to hold the anticipated traffic. It stood {{convert|31|ft|m}} above the water, higher than most bridges on the Delaware.{{cite book|last=Dale|first=Frank T.|title=Bridges Over The Delaware River: A History of Crossings|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8135-3213-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDDDUlaQUYgC&q=Shohola+-+Barryville+Bridge&pg=PA141|access-date=November 30, 2009|pages=158–164}}

Historians believe that from the beginning of the bridge's life, it was toll-free for Lumberland residents. Eventually the town leased the bridge out to private individuals, who collected tolls indiscriminately. During times when bridge could not be leased, the town retained control. The tollhouse was later removed and sold. It is now a home.{{citation-needed|date=August 2024}} Originally, the settlement of Pond Eddy on the Pennsylvania side was named Flagstone, but changed to its current name upon construction. Both Pond Eddys expanded rapidly. A new railroad station was created in Pond Eddy on the Pennsylvania side. The riverfront location on the New York side had two stores, a Methodist church, a telegraph office, eighteen homes and a new hotel with a restaurant. The hotel had new owners around the time of the bridge and eventually became a large stop for travelers. The Pond Eddy Bridge served the town of Lumberland well in the late 19th century, but the area's prosperity did not last. The canal went out of business in 1898, after years of competition from railroads. The Erie station on the Pennsylvania had no roads to go anywhere, and the community began to decline. Decker died at 77 years old in 1900, having lived long enough to experience the rise and fall of Pond Eddy.

{{Infobox bridge

|bridge_name = 1903 Pond Eddy Bridge

|native_name =

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|image = Pond Eddy Bridge from New York bank upriver.jpg

|image_size = 300px

|alt =

|caption = The 1903 bridge from river level

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|carries = State Route 1011 (Pennsylvania){{cite map|url=ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/pike_GHSN.PDF|title=Pike County, Pennsylvania Type 10 Map|year=2009|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation|pages=1|access-date=December 4, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110815043333/ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/pike_GHSN.PDF|archive-date=August 15, 2011}}
{{jct|state=NY|CR|41|county1=Sullivan}} (New York){{cite map |url=http://gis.ny.gov/gisdata/quads/drg24/dotpreview/index.cfm?code=cc40 |title=Pond Eddy Digital Raster Quadrangle |publisher=New York State Department of Transportation |year=1994 |scale=1:24,000 |access-date=December 6, 2009}}

|crosses = Delaware River

|locale = Pond Eddy, NY-PA

|owner=New York–Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission|maint=New York–Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission|id = 000000000029949{{cite web|url=http://nationalbridges.com/index.php?option=com_lqm&827ffd11b02cc8c9049641e458ad24c9=1&task=showResults&query=8&lqm_id=532072&&format=raw&&Itemid=2|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129131258/http://nationalbridges.com/index.php?option=com_lqm&827ffd11b02cc8c9049641e458ad24c9=1&task=showResults&query=8&lqm_id=532072&&format=raw&&Itemid=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 29, 2013|title=Structure Number: 000000000029949|last=Inventory|first=National Bridge|publisher=United States Department of Transportation|access-date=8 April 2012|location=Washington D.C.}}

|designer = Oswego Bridge Company

|design = Petit truss

|material = Steel, wood

|spans = 2

|pierswater =

|mainspan =

|length = {{convert|521|ft|m}}

|width = {{convert|12|ft|m}}

|height =

|load = 4 tons

|clearance = {{convert|13.5|ft|m}}

|below = {{convert|31|ft|m}}

|traffic = 29

|builder = Oswego Bridge Company

|begin =

|complete =

|open = 1903

|preceded =

|followed =

|heritage = NRHP #88002170

|collapsed =

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In 1903, the "floods of the century" struck the Delaware River Valley. Two storms of massive strength, including one from the Great Lakes converged in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York on October 9, causing massive flooding.Flood Scene in Paterson, N.J. -H36824. [motion picture]. Edison Manufacturing Company. October 13, 1903 The Riverside Hotel received little damage, but homes and businesses were damaged heavily as well as the railroad. The 1870 bridge was destroyed in the storm. Lumberland hired the Oswego Bridge Company to build a replacement for $28,900 (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|28900|1903|r=-3}}}} in contemporary dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}). The company built the current two-span, one-lane steel structure.

The lumber industries and stone mines on both sides of the river were eventually exhausted and closed. Tourists coming up the river from Port Jervis became the mainstay of the local economy. During the next two decades, seasonal homes and hotels were built in Pond Eddy.

During the 1920s, the Joint Bridge Commission in Pennsylvania and New York started buying up the tolled bridges along the Delaware. The town of Lumberland offered the Pond Eddy bridge to the Commission, but was refused. The bridge, according to the Commission, was already toll-free and adequately maintained. However, the town was eager to get rid of the responsibility to maintain the two-decade old structure, and continued to try. Finally in 1926, the Lumberland town supervisor, a friend of Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot, offered the commission the bridge for $1; around the same time, the commission paid $55,000 (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|55000|1926|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) for the Narrowsburg–Darbytown Bridge. The Joint Commission became the owner of both bridges. Since then the bridge's history has been virtually uneventful, surviving the flooding during the remains of Hurricane Diane in 1955 with little damage.

File:Pond Eddy Bridge 20071016-jag9889.jpg

The bridge remained intact for many years and, in 1963, it was rededicated as the All Veterans Memorial Bridge by two local veterans groups.See the plaque at :File:Pond Eddy Bridge plaque.jpg In 1998, it was nominated for the U.S. National Register of Historic Places for its engineering significance; it is also listed in the New York State Register of Historic Places.{{cite web|url=http://www.preservenys.org/seven2002.htm|title=Seven to Save 2002|publisher=Preservation League of New York State|access-date=2008-05-05|year=2001 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080611060305/http://www.preservenys.org/seven2002.htm |archive-date = 2008-06-11}}

File:Pond Eddy Bridge New York approach upriver.jpg showing its 7-ton weight limit at the time|alt=Ground-level view of a road leading up to a Pratt truss bridge spanning a river]]

Over the years, the bridge's condition deteriorated, weakening its retaining strength. The National Bridge Inventory Survey categorizes its condition as "Structurally Deficient" and "Basically intolerable requiring high priority of replacement". In 2005, the town of Narrowsburg passed a resolution calling on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to replace the bridge. There has also been a local movement to save the bridge. The bluestone quarries are no longer active, but the bridge still serves as the only access to 26 homes on the Pennsylvania side and the only access those residents have to emergency services. Because of the state of the bridge, planning for its replacement began in 1999. An accident involving a dump truck in 2015 accelerated the replacement of the bridge, completed in November 2018.

In 2005, the community of Narrowsburg, New York, several miles upstream, requested that Pennsylvania Department of Transportation replace the 102-year-old structure. It had already had its weight limits reduced. The same year, an engineering firm in Millburn, New Jersey reported replacing the bridge would cost about $6.16 million, while keeping it would cost even more and raise its life expectancy by no more than 15 years.{{cite news|url=http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/05-08-11/news-pondeddy.html|title=River council supports new bridge at Pond Eddy|first=Charlie|last=Buterbaugh|location=Narrowsburg, New York|work=The River Reporter|access-date=2008-05-05|publisher=Stuart Communications|date=August 2005}} The Upper Delaware Council said that the 8 ton (7.2 tonne) limit on the bridge was inadequate for service trucks and emergency vehicles. The Shohola Township supervisors support maintaining the existing bridge, but the Lumberland Town Board was not convinced that it would be sufficient.

More proposals were made in 2007. Replacing the bridge would cost $7–8 million and take two years to complete. Rehabilitation would require bringing the bridge up to code so it could carry loads of up to 40 tons (36 tonnes). A preservation group formed to oppose a replacement. Its founder compared the bridge to the Dingmans Ferry Bridge on the Pennsylvania–New Jersey border, which carries similar traffic loads. One possibility is to replace the bridge, and move the antique structure elsewhere in Sullivan County, since it is a popular tourist attraction.{{cite news|url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/NEWS/705080307|title=Decision near on fate of Pond Eddy Bridge; the Pa. DOT is thinking of replacing it, while local groups want to save it|first=Sarah|last=Koenig|publisher=News Corporation|work=Times Herald-Record|access-date=2008-05-05|date=May 8, 2007|archive-date=2011-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518023033/http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/NEWS/705080307|url-status=dead}} In June 2008, a compromise was made defining the possibility of a $12 million bridge to replace the 104-year-old deteriorating structure. PennDOT has suggested that they will let anyone preserve the bridge by taking it somewhere else. However, there has been no response, and plans for the new bridge were initially scheduled to begin by 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/COMM/806030318|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518023723/http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/COMM/806030318|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 18, 2011|title=Catskill Confidential: Compromise reached regarding Pond Eddy Bridge|first=Sarah|last=Koenig|publisher=News Corporation|work=Times Herald-Record|access-date=2008-06-16|date=June 3, 2008}}

File:Pond Eddy Bridge construction.jpg

PennDOT began the Route 1011-Pond Eddy Bridge Replacement Project. Route 1011 is the internal designation for Flagstone Road, one of the two side roads in Pennsylvania along with the bridge. The state has proposed a four-span bridge with three connecting bridge piers, with four side options: replacing the bridge upstream, buying out the 26 residences on the Pennsylvania side, rehabilitating the structure to handle weights of 16-18 tons or maintain the bridge in its current form. Depending on which project is chosen, the estimated start would be in 2013, when the structure reaches its 110th year in use. The entire project would cost $8.5–11 million. Opponents of demolishing the bridge hope that they can find a place to move the bridge, which would cost $500,000, and have the new owners maintain it.{{cite web|url=http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/Districts/district4.nsf/CurrentProjectSR1011PondEddy.htm?OpenForm|title=Route 1011, Pond Eddy Bridge Replacement Shohola, Pike County|year=2009|work=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation-Region 4|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation|access-date=30 November 2009|location=Milford, Pennsylvania|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607214720/http://www.dot.state.pa.us/penndot/Districts/district4.nsf/CurrentProjectSR1011PondEddy.htm?OpenForm|archive-date=7 June 2011}}

On December 17, 2010, PennDOT's District 4 downposted the bridge's weight limit to four tons due to deterioration on the bridge. PennDOT will also front $350,000–$500,000 to replace 70 planks on the bridge, which will then restore the weight back to seven tons. Signage has already adjusted for the demotion by both PennDOT and Sullivan County.{{cite news|url=http://www.neagle.com/features/x1882973048/Pond-Eddy-Bridge-limited-to-4-tons|title=Pond Eddy Bridge limited to 4 tons|date=December 20, 2010|work=The News Eagle|publisher=The News Eagle|access-date=December 21, 2010|location=Hawley, Pennsylvania|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714162204/http://www.neagle.com/features/x1882973048/Pond-Eddy-Bridge-limited-to-4-tons|archive-date=July 14, 2011}} Replacement began on April 18, 2011 of 64 stringer beams and on May 25, the project was completed, less than a month ahead of schedule. The seven-ton weight limit was also restored as a result of the completed construction.{{cite news|last=Brelje|first=Beth|title=Pond Eddy Bridge repairs wrap up ahead of schedule|url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110526/NEWS/105260346/-1/SITEMAP|access-date=May 27, 2011|newspaper=The Pocono Record|date=May 26, 2011|archive-date=October 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008162647/http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110526/NEWS/105260346/-1/SITEMAP|url-status=dead}} The cost of the project totaled out to $493,000 (2011 USD).{{cite news|last=Brelje|first=Beth|title=Pond Eddy Bridge back in business after repairs|url=http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110525/NEWS/105250311/-1/NEWS|access-date=May 27, 2011|newspaper=The Pocono Record|date=May 25, 2011|archive-date=March 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325184255/http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110525/NEWS/105250311/-1/NEWS|url-status=dead}}

Officials from the state of New York stopped the replacement project in 2012 due to concerns of the local preservationist group, Save the Pond Eddy Bridge, which complained that the $12 million (2012 USD) project would only serve twelve families in Shohola Township and was a waste of taxpayer funding. The new bridge, which would have a weight limit of 40 tons and {{convert|32|ft|m}} wide, caused New York State Department of Transportation to work with PennDOT to redesign the bridge. In May 2013, a deal was reached between all agencies, developing a new bridge that would be {{convert|22|ft|m}} wide, with a single lane and sidewalk. The new bridge also got approval from the Federal Highway Administration despite the critics who thought it would be cheaper to build a road in Shohola Township side, which would be about {{convert|3.5|mi|km}} of new road. The new bridge would look similar to the original structure and would cost about $9 million (2013 USD) to construct. The 15-month project however would require the Delaware River to have the waters below rerouted for the construction.{{cite news|last=Mayer|first=Fritz|title=Deal reached on Pond Eddy Bridge; Replacement will be smaller than planned|url=http://www.riverreporter.com/news/4302/2013/05/01/deal-reached-pond-eddy-bridge-replacement-will-be-smaller-planned|access-date=May 26, 2013|newspaper=The River Reporter|date=May 1, 2013}}

{{Multiple image |align=right |total_width=400 |direction=horizontal |image1=Lucky trucker.jpg |caption1=An over-weight dump truck crossed the Pond Eddy Bridge before crashing into the cliff on the Pennsylvania side, causing such damage as to accelerate the plans to replace the bridge. |image2=Final days.jpg |caption2=Demolition of the old bridge.}}

On July 14, 2014, PennDOT announced that they were opening bids on selling the Pond Eddy Bridge for people who wish to reassemble to use it as a bridge within the next ten years. The agency also sent out invitations for all municipalities in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.{{cite news|last1=Brelje|first1=Beth|title=Historic Pond Eddy Bridge, built in 1904, up for sale in Pennsylvania|url=http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140714/NEWS/140719911|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004039/http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140714/NEWS/140719911|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2014|access-date=July 14, 2014|date=July 14, 2014|publisher=Pocono Record}}

In October 2015, a dump truck carrying stone dust lost its brakes coming down the hill directly in front of the bridge; it crossed the bridge and crashed. The stress of the accident accelerated the replacement of the bridge. The replacement bridge was built about {{convert|50|ft}} upstream from the original, and although modernized with more robust framing, retained the characteristic trusses. Demolition of the old bridge entered the final phase on November 6, 2018. The project was completed in November 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pahomepage.com/news/new-pond-eddy-bridge-expected-to-open-in-fall/1291990272|title=New Pond Eddy Bridge expected to open in fall|date=9 July 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pahomepage.com/news/pond-eddy-bridge-now-open/1585350123|title = Pond Eddy Bridge Now Open|date = 10 November 2018}}

• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York
• List of crossings of the Delaware River
• New York–Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pike County, Pennsylvania
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Sullivan County, New York

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Pond Eddy Bridge}}

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|structure = Crossings

|place = Delaware River

|bridge = Pond Eddy Bridge

|bridge signs = {{jct|state=NY|CR|41|county1=Sullivan}}

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|upstream signs = {{jct|state=NY|NY|55|CR|11|county2=Sullivan}} {{jct|state=PA|PA|434}}

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{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}

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{{NRHP bridges}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1904

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