From Josh Swartley, Delaware Canal State Park Manager —-
On Saturday, August 11, 2018 Williams Township (Northampton County) experience torrential downpours and flash flooding. As a result of this flooding Fry’s Run overflowed its banks, sending a wall of water into Kleinhans Aqueduct. The flash flooding damage the aqueduct and the temporary bypass that carries water along the canal. The aqueduct wall on the west side was completely blown off and washed down the canal. The temporary bypass, that conveys water through the canal, was washed away. Currently, water is being diverted out of the canal at Theodore Roosevelt Recreation Area (TRRA) until repairs can be made to the aqueduct. The area between TRRA and Durham will have no flow until repairs can be made. The Durham pump has been turned on, so the area south of Durham will have a minimal amount of water on a short term, temporary basis. Over the next several days, we will be working on installing another temporary bypass over the aqueduct and hope to have water flowing through the area by the end of next week.
On Saturday, August 11th, it RAINED in the upper stretches of the Canal causing local flooding. Fry’s Run near Raubsville rose to a level higher than the canal aqueduct, and the tremendous force of the water against the temporary pipes, which were carrying the Canal’s water over the Run, were ripped out of place – as well as stone walls and some River bank.
The result is that most of the water coming south from Easton is pouring out the west side of what remains of the aqueduct structure. Water levels have dropped from Groundhog Lock south.
Hope to know more soon about the way forward. This turn of events is especially sad since
Looking toward the aqueduct from Route 611.
DCNR took great pains to install the pipes so that the Canal could be watered until the structurally deficient aqueduct was replaced. Fortunately, the plans for the new aqueduct are finished, so the replacement process is underway.
From the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission:
Delaware Canal Towpath in Pennsylvania near Scudder Falls Bridge
To Close Six Days a Week Starting July 30
Towpath Section to be Open Sundays Only until August 31
LOWER MAKEFIELD, PA – A short section of the Delaware Canal towpath on the Pennsylvania side of the Scudder Falls Bridge is scheduled to be closed six days a week beginning Monday, July 30, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced today.
The scheduled towpath closure is needed to ensure public safety while construction activities take place on the approach bridge that carries I-295/I-95 across the canal. This work initially will involve mobilization activities and then expansion of the approach bridge’s abutment as a precursor to widening the roadway before the river bridge.
The towpath is scheduled to be barricaded and inaccessible to the public from Woodside Road to the project limits downstream of the canal’s I-295/I-95 overpass Monday through Saturday of each week from July 30 until August 31.
Under the current schedule, the towpath is expected to be open through the project area on Sundays only in the month of August. If all goes as scheduled, the affected towpath segment should be open for the Labor Day holiday weekend.
The aforementioned closure periods are subject to change due to weather and other considerations.
Pedestrians and bicyclists are urged to exercise caution when traveling along the canal near or through work areas as the bridge replacement project construction activities proceed over the next t years.
More information and videos on the bridge replacement project are available at www.scudderfallsbridge.com
Construction has begun on opening up one of our remaining three major trail obstructions along the canal. Contractors have begun work at the site known as the Conrail embankment, located 1 mile south of Bridge Street in Morrisville. The towpath on both north and south sides of the embankment will be closed due to this construction for the foreseeable future, as contractors prepare to tunnel through the embankment.
Once completed, towpath users will once again be able to safely traverse through this segment of the canal towpath for the first time in decades.
On Saturday, August 11th, it RAINED in the upper stretches of the Canal causing local flooding. Fry’s Run near Raubsville rose to a level higher than the canal aqueduct, and the tremendous force of the water against the temporary pipes, which were carrying the Canal’s water over the Run, were ripped out of place – as well as stone walls and some River bank.