MARGARETVILLE - The Fair Street bridge in Margaretville reopened to traffic Monday afternoon, Aug. 3, after Delaware County crews removed enough of a large tree lodged against the structure to safely restore access.
The bridge, located on Fair Street in front of Margaretville Central School and spanning the East Branch of the Delaware River, had been closed since Wednesday, July 29, when a tree estimated at about 30-feet tall was swept downstream by heavy rainfall and became wedged against the bridge.
According to Margaretville Mayor John Hubbell, the tree was dislodged upstream before floating into the bridge, where it became hung up against the structure.
The Delaware County Department of Public Works, which owns and maintains the bridge, initially removed the portion of the tree extending over the roadway before closing the bridge as a precaution.
On Monday, county crews returned to remove additional sections of the tree, allowing the bridge to reopen later that day.
Delaware County Department of Public Works Commissioner James Thomas said the remaining root ball and part of the trunk will stay in the river until heavier equipment becomes available.
“The bridge re-opened today,” Thomas said Monday. “The root ball and trunk can’t be removed yet as we need our big excavator to get something that big and it’s broken down right now. But there was no damage to the bridge from the tree.”
The confirmation that the bridge sustained no structural damage allowed officials to restore traffic while plans are made to remove the remaining debris.
Motorists had been detouring via the Bridge Street crossing near Freshtown during the closure.
At the scene following the initial incident, Hubbell met with Middletown-Hardenburgh Assistant Fire Chief Alan Gavette and Delaware County DPW employee Isiah “Zeke” Hunter as crews assessed conditions.
Aside from the bridge closure, Hubbell said he was not aware of any significant weather-related damage elsewhere in the Margaretville area.
