letter to the editor

PennDOT must restore not destroy the historic bridge

Posted 1/8/25

Damascus Citizens for Sustainability is alerting the public that PennDOT’s proposal to destroy the Skinners Falls, Milanville Bridge is not based on facts. Our comment letter and associated …

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letter to the editor

PennDOT must restore not destroy the historic bridge

Posted

Damascus Citizens for Sustainability is alerting the public that PennDOT’s proposal to destroy the Skinners Falls, Milanville Bridge is not based on facts. Our comment letter and associated attachment are posted on our website www.damascuscitizensforsustainability.org/2025/01/02/dcs-opposes-destruction-of-historic-skinners-falls-bridge/.

As detailed in the comment, PennDOT’s claims of rapid deterioration are not supported by the data available to DCS. To the contrary, measurements of the NY abutment/wingwalls, which PennDOT has focused on, show no movement for at least the past year. As of May 2023, PennDOT’s consultant (AECOM) issued a report confirming that the bridge could still be rehabilitated.  PennDOT’s sudden and swift push to demolish the bridge, without a clear factual basis, circumvents the Environmental Rights Amendment, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, and sets a destructive precedent for all historic bridges in PA.

The proposed destruction of the bridge must be halted, and bridge rehabilitation finally made a priority.

Lauren M. Williams, Esq.
Greenworks Law and Consulting LLC
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
Narrowsburg, NY

penndot, damascus citizens, sustainability, public, skinners falls, bridge

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