Abandoned swing bridge in Delaware will be demolished if officials can’t find a new home
Written by RT&S Staff
Officials are looking into light-rail expansion between Alexandria and Quantico.
Progress Rail
Delaware officials want to preserve an abandoned railroad swing bridge, but the tricky part has been finding it a new home.
Currently sitting in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, the span, which was taken out of action in 2017, has dropped 7 to 8 in. in the canal. Erosion also has been increasing around the bridge. The most recent solution is to move the bridge to Great Marsh Park in Lewes, Del. The Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission voted to look into a feasibility study of the move, and is currently working on a master plan.
The Delaware Department of Transportation says if no plan is finalized soon the agency will demolish the swing bridge.
The Lewes-Rehoboth Canal swing bridge was originally built in 1916 and served the menhaden fish factory, Cape Henlopen State Park, Fort Miles and SPI Pharma.
The Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association has been fighting to preserve the bridge, and also wants to relocate 210 ft of rail between the Lewes Public Library and the Lewes History Museum. Plans call for a locomotive, passenger car and caboose to be featured on the track, which was left in place by the Delaware Department of Transportation in 2018.
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