Despite video, bridge commission says wood planks not being thrown in river

Workers on a project to replace walkway planks on the Calhoun Street Bridge in Trenton met with the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission to review procedure for discarding material after a three-second video was posted to Facebook showing wood  falling into the Delaware River below.

Work began Monday on a project to replace the walkway planks on the bridge. The work involves removal of spruce treated-lumber planks that were installed in 2010. They have become worn and brittle and are being replaced with composite-decking planks. The job should be completed in October.

The short video clip posted by Cie Stroud on Thursday to her Facebook page shows three workers in yellow vests. It opens with something hitting the water and shows another worker tossing something to the side. Stroud said workers were dropping pieces into the river.

"There was a meeting and they went over the protocols for removing planks of wood so they wouldn't break up and a piece goes into the river," commission spokesman Joe Donnelly told New Jersey 101.5. He said only one piece of wood went into the water.

"It's our longest truss bridge so there's a lot of wood planks," Donnelly said, adding that it's difficult to remove some of the end pieces that extend beyond the railing.

The bridge connecting Trenton and Morrisville, Pennsylvania, was built in 1884 and is the Commission's oldest bridge.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ