There are more than 17,000 bridges in New York State—some so small it’s hard to tell exactly what they span, others massive fixtures and icons—and with $19.9 million being distributed through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s NY Works program, 11 of those bridges will get a major makeover through next year.
Construction on the Congress Street Bridge that links Troy and Watervliet began on Tuesday, July 3, and is expected to be completed by 2013.
“Five bridges are being started and completed this year and another five will be started and completed next year,” said Carol Breen, spokesperson for the New York State Department of Transportation.
The 11 bridges targeted by the governor’s NY Works program, which he included in the 2012-13 budget to improve Capital District infrastructure, will get a “deck” replacement, a fancy word for the driving surface. The improvements will bring bridge conditions from a “fair” classification to “good.”
Breen said the group of bridges were chosen based on how easy rehabilitation would be, thus allowing a large amount of bridges to be improved in a short period of time.
“We were looking at bridges that … didn’t include a lot of environmental permitting that sometimes takes time to get through; projects that didn’t require us acquiring any land, which also takes time,” said Breen. “Bridges in a certain condition where we could just go in, replace the deck and get out of there quickly and easily.”
Bridges are expected to last between 50 and 75 years and are inspected at least every two years. Breen said repairs are always completed when necessary, so the 11 bridges getting the NY Works treatment would have been addressed eventually. The funding up front just helped that happen sooner rather than later.
“They would have been done but they would have been done down the road. … We would have had to wait on these bridges and some would have been in worse condition by the time we could get to them,” said Breen.
Breen said waiting would have also lead to more expensive repairs, meaning fewer bridges would have received attention.
“This multi-million dollar investment into the Congress Street Bridge is critical to the future condition and stability of a key corridor into Troy and Watervliet,” said Troy Mayor Lou Rosamilia in a statement.
Bette & Cring of Latham is the construction company completing the Congress Street Bridge construction. During construction, the bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction and only one sidewalk will be open. Work on the portion over I-787 will take place this year, with work on the portion over the Hudson River starting next year.
Other bridges with work slated to be completed by the end of the year are the bridge carrying Washington Avenue over I-90 in Rensselaer; bridges carrying I-90 eastbound and westbound over Krafts Road in Schodack; bridges carrying Route 22 over East Creek in Stephentown and Route 22 over Dill Brook in Petersburgh.
Deck replacement is considered a major bridge repair, said Breen, in line with replacing piers for bridges over water or replacing a whole bridge. But there are minor things being done to extend bridge life all the time that many drivers don’t even realize, she said.
“There are joints in the bridges so the concrete can expand and contract with the weather and we have to replace those joints. There are bearings the bridge sits on and they have to expand and contract so we get in there and replace those … even putting a fresh coat of paint on every so often prevents rust on the bridge,” said Breen.
Trained engineers go over every inch of the state’s bridges to dole out a rating from one to seven. A seven is usually a brand new bridge and a six would be considered “extremely good condition.” A rating of four signifies various repairs are needed and a three or lower usually means a major rehab project is necessary.
The bridge projects being completed with NY Works funding have just begun, but on June 22, the very first project of a $13.2 million repaving effort began using NY Works dollars. The millions will be used to resurface 21 segments of state roads in Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer and Washington counties.
For more information about roadways targeted under the NY Works Program, visit www.nysdot.gov. Travel information is available by calling 511 or visiting www.511NY.org.
