NEW HOPE, PA. – Only two weeks are left for the public to submit comments on the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project’s planned New Jersey tree cutting and reforestation measures.
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today reconfirmed that comment period for the New Jersey reforestation plan will expire May 16. A 60-day comment period opened after the agency hosted a March 15 public hearing on the project’s proposed New Jersey No Net Loss Reforestation Plan.
Under the proposed plan, the Commission plans to remove trees on a little more than 14 acres in Ewing, N.J. The affected properties are in the vicinity of the bridge, at the adjacent I-95/Route 29 interchange, and along the I-95 New Jersey approach to the bridge. Tree cutting work is scheduled to begin after October 1.
The crux of the proposed reforestation plan is as follows:
– Plant slightly more than 1,400 trees on 7.18 acres of the project’s New Jersey right-of-way after respective construction stages are completed;
– Plant another 650 trees elsewhere in Ewing Township to the maximum extent practicable; and
– In the event the Commission cannot meet its Ewing tree-planting quota, the agency would provide monetary compensation to the state DEP at a rate of $300 per tree.
There are a variety of ways for the public to provide further comment on the proposed reforestation plan:
– E-mail: Interested parties may send comments toinfo@scudderfallsbridge.com
– Project website: The project website – www.scudderfallsbridge.com – has a “Contact” portal that includes a form that the public may utilize to provide comment.
– Commission website: The Bridge Commission has a public website –www.drjtbc.org that includes a “Contact Us” page where people can fill out an on-line comments form
– U.S. Mail: Please address envelopes to Community Affairs Department, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, 2492 River Road, New Hope, PA. 18938-9519
The Commission plans to compile and respond to comments on the reforestation plan as part of its formal submission to the NJ Forest Service.
Updated Project Video/Renderings and Fact Sheet Available Online
Links to additional information on the reforestation plan, a project fact sheet and associated renderings of the project are available on both the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement’s Project’s home page – www.scudderfallsbridge.com– and the Commission’s website – www.drjtbc.org.
To find the materials on the project website, go to the home page and click on “Read More” in the banner item atop the page. The materials also are listed toward the bottom of the center column of the Commission’s home page.
The websites also have links to the updated project video, which may be directly accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXq9L3Jm7iw.
