Your Award-Winning News Source for the Upper Delaware River Valley Region Since 1975
Vol. 42 No. 31
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AUGUST 4-10, 2016
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www.riverreporter.com
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$1.50
Pond Eddy Bridge project begins By ANYA TIKKA
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OND EDDY, NY — The construction of the new Pond Eddy Bridge, slated to open sometime in 2018, is underway, with heavy equipment lining Route 97 near the existing bridge, and a new short access road leading to the river landing. Both are constructed from large blocks of rock. Traffic along 97 is restricted during the day, when the lanes are closed and opened on alternating sides to allow heavy trucks and excavators access to the riverbank building pad. The construction will take place in stages: first extending halfway across the river from New York, then the other half from the Pennsylvania side, where the two sides will meet. The old bridge, which will stay open throughout the construction, will be taken down. D.A. Collins Construction Project Manager Sarah Hill was busy overseeing the project, but sat down to talk to The
River Reporter for a few moments. “We’ve been here for two weeks now. The company is based just north of Saratoga. This is a decent-size job, about the size we normally do. We do normally bridges, road work, river work, pretty much anything that falls in the heavy highway category,” she said. The New York side of the new bridge will be located on Route 97 across from Hollow Road, whereas the old bridge is located across from High Road. “Right now we have probably about six workers onsite,” Hill said. “On an average day, six to 10. Some of them are locals.” She said that more will be added as the project progresses. The employees who came from Syracuse live in a hotel at the moment, and for office space, the company just rented a disused restaurant close to the bridge. About the locals, she said, “Everybody’s Continued on page 3 TRR photo by Scott Rando
Hummingbirds and damselflies
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Workers are constructing a causeway into the Delaware River in preparation for replacing the Pond Eddy Bridge.
Keep on truckin’ Neither rain nor snow nor a dead engine kept Jonathan Fox from his appointed rounds
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EGION — Hummingbirds take nectar from the plentiful orange jewelweed. Another plant that attracts hummingbirds and that is present in wetlands is the cardinal flower, a plant that blooms in mid- to late summer with a
deep red tubular flower that relies heavily on the hummingbirds’ long bill for pollination. For more on wetland aviators, turn to River Talk on page 32.
SPANNING 2 STATES, 4 COUNTIES, AND A RIVER THAT UNITES US
Antique sale and show Browsers paradise in Hawley
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