LEWES — Two months after its scheduled removal, the historic 106-year-old Lewes Railroad Swing Bridge was lifted out of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal on Tuesday.

The swing bridge, which was originally scheduled to be removed on Dec. 1, 2021, has been decommissioned since 2017. The Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association decided that removal of the swing bridge was necessary as the tidal flow of the canal created scour underneath the foundation of the bridge, causing it to sink seven to eight inches.

The Lewes Railroad Swing Bridge was one of the last remaining hand-operated swing bridges in the country prior to its removal.

The project has been led by the Delaware Department of Transportation and involves not only the removal of the bridge, but also the restoration of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. The restoration of the canal will take its shorelines back to their original condiiton from 1916.

DelDOT contracted Richard E. Pierson Construction Company to assist on the project. Once a plan was put in place, Digging & Rigging, Inc. was subcontracted to provide the proper equipment necessary for removal.

The originally scheduled removal of the swing bridge was postponed Dec. 1 when the 500-ton crane that was initially going to remove the swing bridge was deemed to be too small. After the postponement, DelDOT and its project partners went back to the drawing board to come up with a solution.

“It’s a 900-ton crane versus a 500-ton crane, and that larger crane means a larger footprint. We had to create a nice and sturdy, level foundation for the crane to set up so we could get close enough to lift the bridge,” said DelDOT area engineer and project manager Matthew Goins.

The removal process began the weekend prior as equipment such as the crane engine, boom and truckloads of counterweights were placed in the parking lot of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. About 18 truckloads of materials were brought to the site before the swing bridge’s removal.

On Tuesday at 9 a.m., the removal began as a 900-ton Digging & Rigging crane lifted the swing bridge and placed it onto the transport vehicle. Securing the bridge onto the transport vehicle took nearly two hours. The bridge, which weighs 102.5 tons, had to be partially disassembled due to its weight before crossing the Theo C. Freeman Highway Bridge.

The reassembling of the bridge took place throughout the Tuesday and early Wednesday, as DelDOT made the decision to continue working due to rain in the forecast. Once the bridge was reassembled, it was lifted onto its new display site off of American Legion Road in Lewes around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

“This week went extremely smooth, I think the second time around, everybody was just crossing their Ts and dotting their Is making sure everything would go as planned. I was really happy to see that there were no setbacks,” said Mr. Goins.

The future of the swing bridge had been uncertain for nearly two years, but after the collaborative efforts of the city of Lewes, DelDOT, and the Lewes Junction Railroad & Bridge Association, the removal of the bridge was carried out efficiently.

“It took a lot of careful planning, and we couldn’t have done it without R.E. Pierson, Digging & Rigging, Mid-Atlantic Transport, the Delaware River & Bay Authority, and the Lewes Police Department for helping out and escorting the bridge to its new site,” said Mr. Goins.

The Lewes Junction Railroad & Bridge Association plans to preserve and display the Lewes Railroad Swing Bridge to promote its historical significance.