RIVER VALLEY — The New York-Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission approved nearly $20 million for major rehabilitation work on two Upper Delaware River crossings, while taking no action on a future replacement for the demolished Skinners Falls-Milanville Bridge.

The commission met May 13 at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation headquarters in Dunmore to review capital spending, bridge inspections and maintenance work for the nine remaining Upper Delaware River bridges under its jurisdiction.

The commission approved $11.55 million for the Callicoon-Damascus Bridge and $8.36 million for the Port Jervis-Matamoras Bridge, for a total of $19.91 million. The cost will be split evenly between New York and Pennsylvania under the commission’s 2026-2027 budget.

Work on the Callicoon-Damascus Bridge, which began last fall, appears to be ahead of schedule.

The commission awarded a $17.86 million contract in March 2024 to Bette & Cring LLC of Latham to rehabilitate the 1961 bridge. The project was originally expected to be completed in November 2027 because one lane of traffic was being maintained during construction, except for several temporary closures needed to pour new concrete lanes.

“The contractor is motivated to try to get everything done to be substantially complete this year,” said NYS DOT Regional Structures Engineer Jacob Hamlin.

Hamlin said remaining steel repairs are expected in late July, normal traffic patterns are expected to resume by late August and the contractor will return next spring for final touch-ups.

The commission previously approved $2.21 million in 2021 to design the Callicoon-Damascus Bridge upgrade.

The Port Jervis-Matamoras Bridge project, supervised by PennDOT, is expected to be completed in October 2026. The work includes replacing the open steel grid deck with lightweight concrete on the 1939 bridge.

JD Eckman of Atglen, Pa., was awarded the contract in July 2024. The project is being completed in three phases while traffic continues to move across the bridge. Westbound Phase 2 is expected to finish in about three weeks, while Phase 3, which includes replacing stringers and completing the new deck, is expected to end in early June.

The total project cost was estimated last year at about $14.55 million for superstructure and substructure work. In 2024, the commission approved $5.9 million to repair the bridge’s steel members.

No capital project plans were listed for the former Skinners Falls-Milanville Bridge, which was demolished in April 2025 after being closed since October 2019 following an emergency inspection.

PennDOT initially announced plans in November 2024 to dismantle and salvage bridge components for possible reuse. However, Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a declaration in December 2024 stating that PennDOT had identified an “emergent need to remove the bridge” for public safety. An independent analysis rated the bridge’s substructure as failed and its superstructure in critical condition.

The demolition cost $5.02 million.

Since 2020, the commission had authorized $4.77 million for a Planning and Environmental Linkages study to evaluate options for the bridge. The study was required because the 1902 bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

The study was updated in September 2025 to reflect the loss of the bridge. It cited limited available funding and a low cost-benefit ratio as reasons not to currently advance a replacement, which was estimated to cost between $13 million and $28.5 million depending on design and alignment.

All that remains of the bridge is one abutment in Milanville, Pa., where a custom railing was fabricated and installed. The site was originally envisioned as a scenic river overlook, but that plan is now uncertain because of federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act guidance calling for abutments, piers and foundations to be removed when the associated bridge no longer exists. The site may also face a legal challenge from an adjacent property owner.

An on-site meeting is expected in mid-June for federal and state consulting parties to discuss cultural resources mitigation related to the bridge’s removal.

Bridge inspections were conducted April 14. Commissioners also earmarked $44,000 for general maintenance and snow and ice control, compared to $46,622 spent in 2025-26.

Other interstate bridges under the commission’s jurisdiction include the Pond Eddy Bridge, Barryville-Shohola Bridge, Narrowsburg-Darbytown Bridge, Cochecton-Damascus Bridge, Kellams-Stalker Bridge, Lordville-Equinunk Bridge and Hancock-Buckingham Bridge.