For the first time in a year and a half, traffic was free-flowing between Port Jervis and Matamoras, Friday afternoon

MATAMORAS – The last barricades on and around the bridge over the Delaware River, between Matamoras, and Port Jervis NY, came down Friday afternoon, putting an official end to an 18-month reconstruction that was needed, but caused headaches for people frequently trying to get from one side, to the other.

That was a particular problem during the first several weeks of the project which began in the Spring of 2010.  For that time, only one direction of traffic was permitted, from New York to Pennsylvania.  Return traffic had to take a long detour via Interstate 84.

The $2.6 million project included rehabilitation of existing steel bridge over the Delaware River consisting of painting the structure's including floor beams, stringers, bearings; fabricated structural steel repairs, repair expansion dams, pressure mortar surfacing.

Some portions of the open steel grid deck will be removed to repair floor beams and stringers beneath. The grid was reinstalled or replaced as required. Some minor concrete work was also done