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One lane now open on bridge on Rte. 42

South Fallsburg – Work was completed last night to
open the Route 42 bridge into South Fallsburg for one
lane of traffic, as planning continues to fully
replace the bridge before the summer slam of
vacationers.
The two-lane bridge has been closed since last
weekend's floods, detouring traffic on a winding route
through residential areas to get into South Fallsburg.
In the last week, the 500-foot drive from the
bridge into South Fallsburg ballooned to seven miles –
two miles if you ignored the detour signs and found
your own way.
The new aluminum bridge should arrive in South
Fallsburg in three weeks, but the timeline for
installation is uncertain. So when will it be
finished?
"It's really hard right now to guess," said Pam
Eshbaugh, Department of Transportation spokeswoman,
explaining that DOT crews are stretched thin by
countywide road repairs.
"Just as long as it's done by July 1," said
Fallsburg Supervisor Steve Levine, who last week
called a summer closing of the bridge a "disaster."
If the bridge isn't fully open before the summer
hordes descend on South Fallsburg, "(traffic) will be
backed up from here to Wal-Mart," five miles away in
Kiamesha Lake, Levine said.
A DOT bridge crew made repairs over the weekend,
paving the way for a one-lane opening, and another
crew yesterday moved makeshift dirt roadblocks and
installed temporary traffic signals.
The bridge was slated to be replaced next year, but
flood damage pushed it near the top of the DOT's
agenda.