Demolition plans creep forward to a spring 2011 start
One year ago, residents in the southern portion of Bethlehem were dealt a shock when Albany County officials closed the Route 53 bridge over the CSX Selkirk rail yard due to its deteriorating condition. Today, plans to remove the span entirely are proceeding, with no intent to rebuild it.
The demolition process is on track to begin in the spring of 2011, said Albany County Director of Operations Michael Franchini, and consultant Clough Harbour and Associates is working on the detailed plans.
That involves working very closely with CSX to determine the best way to do the work and not interfere with the operations in the rail yard itself, he said. `It’s a relatively complicated process.`
The 11,000-foot span will be disassembled piece by piece, a process that should take until the fall to complete. The estimated cost is $1.8 million, up from original estimates made a year ago. Franchini said that’s partly due to more accurate information coming out of the design process and partly due to rising costs.
The bridge on Old School Road`commonly known as Ben’s Bridge`was closed to traffic July 6, 2009. The county, which owns the bridge, said the bridge was unstable and thus unsafe, and pointed residents to detours along routes 32 and 396, which can add miles to the trip northward from parts southern Bethlehem.
South Bethlehem resident Paul Miller said his commute to the state offices complex to the north has increased in length due to the closure, but that he’s more concerned about what the delay could mean for emergency responders going to South Bethlehem or the rail yard itself.
`It’s not just a matter of convenience,` said Miller, who is a volunteer firefighter with Selkirk Fire Co. 3. `You need to have maximum flexibility of how you get around that yard and through it in an emergency situation.`
Due to a weight limit on the bridge, fire trucks were not able to drive over the span before the closure.
The bridge was also closed for a time in the late ’80s until 1991 under similar circumstances. In that instance, CSX did contribute to repair costs; the company owns the bridge’s superstructure and county owns the rest.
South Bethlehem resident Christine Frankovic said she’d like to see the county seek out alternative revenue sources to get a new bridge built.
`No one can reasonably expect Albany County to pick up the tab alone to replace the bridge,` she said.
80 percent of the demolition cost will be covered by federal funds through the Capital District Transportation Committee’s 5-year plan. The county will cover the remaining 20 percent.
Frankovic also expressed worries about emergency services being denied use of the bridge.
`Fire, ambulance and emergency personnel need to use an alternate route to get to us,` she said. `For lack of a better term, we feel as if we sit on the wrong side of the tracks.`
Frankovic carried a petition to replace or repair the bridge after it was first closed, which garnered over 200 signatures of southern Bethlehem residents.
Franchini said since the initial analysis a year ago, the county has been committed to the demolition plans.
`No [more] thought has been given to trying to reconstruct the bridge,` he said. `We’re very careful with our analysis and our research…we really feel like we totally analyzed this, and feel like we’re doing the right thing, especially considering the financial issues we’re all facing.`
Those who have been affected by the closure are unlikely to see another bridge springing up anytime soon. The estimated cost to replace the bridge was $18 million a year ago, an estimate Franchini said has probably inflated.
For residents of South Bethlehem, who are often quick to say they are marginalized, the closure has put them even further away from the town center.
`We’re a relatively small part of the greater part of Bethlehem and physically cut off. And it’s becoming a psychological cutoff as well,` said Miller. `You feel like you’re more in no man’s land than ever before.“
