By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff
DELANCO
"Finally, you can see it move," Dick Habermann exclaimed Friday as the righting of the Rancocas Creek bridge picked up momentum.
Habermann, a retired Bell Labs technician and a self- described bridge buff, had been waiting longer than most for this moment. Habermann, of Allentown, Pa., has been watching the preparations to right the bridge off and on ever since it toppled over on April 5.
Friday he, "a few dozen other sidewalk engineers," and a group of the just plain curious gathered on the Delanco side of the creek to watch Rigging International of Almeida, Calif., try to right the 800-ton bright blue span that has been lying awkwardly on its side against the Riverside bank since it fell over.
Spectators came in all sizes and ages. In the early hours retirees made up the bulk of the spectators but families and children picked up as the day wore on.
Barbara Manderbach, 70, and her husband, David, 72, of Burlington Township, brought a picnic basket and "planned to make a day of it."
"When you're retired you look for things to do," Barbara said.
Rhonda Lehmann, of Lumberton, stopped by at 1 p.m. with three children in tow and a plan to make a quick stop before heading for the Shore. Told that the start had been pushed back a half-hour, Lehmann went to a nearby convenience store for food. But after rumors of postponements made their way through the crowd, Lehmann packed up her crew and headed for the Shore.
Bob Walters invited people into part of his yard that overlooks the creek, but "only if you have chairs." He explained, "I want the people behind you to be able to see, too."
Jean Kenny sat on her front steps at hourly intervals from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. She was out of the house when the bridge toppled over in April. "I missed it by 10 minutes," she said, adding she was determined not to miss the righting. But by 6 p.m. she was no longer in sight as the smells of cooking emanated from her house.
"They're in no rush to get this done," Brett Blanchard said of Rigging International. "Safety is their paramount concern," said Blanchard, whose firm Protec, of Rancocas, had a contract to study and document the impact of the rail construction on buildings along the line. "If they don't get it done today (Friday), they'll get it done tomorrow."