LEWES, Del. - The process of getting the historic Lewes Swing Bridge out of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal picks back up Friday. Delaware Department of Transportation(DelDOT) crews will bring in and assemble parts of the project's new crane throughout the day.
Parts of that crane arrived Thursday. According to Lewes Mayor, Ted Becker, the counter weights will be brought into town Monday.
DelDOT says those counter weights are what will help lift the bridge this time.
"The second crane, it's a larger crane that has the ability to have more counter balance, which is what's needed to actually lift the bridge structure out of the water," said DelDOT Community Relations Director, C.R. McLeod. "So, our engineers feel that this bridge crane will be able to get the job done, and that's how we're going to proceed for the time being."
DelDOT predicted it would take about 20 trucks to get all of the crane's pieces into town.
They first tried to lift the bridge from the canal on December 2, 2021. They soon realized that the crane was too small for the job. McLeod says they estimate the bridge weighs 30 tons more than originally predicted.
DelDOT has yet to set a moving date for the bridge. McLeod says that will be set once the crane is completely assembled, and that is is dependent on weather.
Gils Neck Road will be closed Monday as crews bring in and assemble the crane.