Eagle Scout candidate, Philip Salvatore, a senior at West Morris Central High School and a group of 20 Scouts and parents recently completed the construction of a footbridge across Schooley's Mountain Brook, allowing access to Cataract Park. Salvatore designed the bridge to replace a collapsed structure in the area known as Cataract Park off Schooley’s Mountain Road.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 36 in Long Valley, Salvatore noted he first began considering an Eagle Scout community project about November 2003. The original bridge across Schooley's Mountain Brook at Cataract Park, a 25-foot long structure, washed away in 2002. Salvatore contacted Washington Township Parks and Recreation Department and obtained permission to replace the bridge, and then used the Falling Waters Trail bridge in Schooley's Mountain Park as a model. Using measurements from remains of the original structure, the Falling Waters Trail bridge and a computer software program, Salvatore designed the new footbridge.

Before he began construction, Salvatore was advised that the project needed approval from the NJ State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Township Committee-woman Kim Ball Kaiser became aware of the issue, spoke with DEP officials who eventually determined no permit was required.

Salvatore secured donations of equipment and material for the project, removed the dilapidated bridge and constructed a new bridge with stairs and handrails, features that were missing from the original bridge. The rails and stairs will provide added safety and security while crossing the occasional roaring brook.

Salvatore’s project taught him patience and the value of teamwork, and the new bridge is an attractive and important addition to Cataract Park, again allowing safe access to the park after several years of relative inaccessibility.