Batchellerville Bridge Replacement to Move Ahead This Summer

ALBANY, NY (03/05/2010)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee today announced that the Batchellerville Bridge replacement project is moving forward following yesterday's unanimous vote by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) Policy Committee to approve the project and provide additional funding for it. The 80-year-old bridge carries Saratoga County Route 98 over Great Sacandaga Lake in the Town of Edinburg,Saratoga County.

"For generations, the Batchellerville Bridge has been an essential link for year-round residents and summer tourists in the region," Acting Commissioner Gee said. "With Governor Paterson's leadership, the help of Congressman Scott Murphy and the partnership of local officials, the State Department of Transportation is pleased to be making this project a reality, further ensuring the safety and reliability of our transportation system."

At NYSDOT's request, the CDTC yesterday approved $20 million in funding for the bridge replacement project, which will be added to $38 million in federal funding NYSDOT already had allocated to the project. Competitive bids for the project's construction contract are scheduled to be opened on May 6. Construction is expected to begin this summer and completed by early 2012.

Built in 1930, the two-lane Batchellerville Bridge is 3,078 feet long and accommodates an average of 2,100 vehicles a day. Due to deterioration of the bridge's steel structure, vehicles weighing more than 15 tons are prohibited from traveling on it. Saratoga County, which owns the bridge, last August limited traffic to one lane at a time, controlling it with traffic signals on each end of the bridge.

The bridge replacement project will extend from Wessels Road easterly across the bridge to Saratoga County Route 7, also known as South Shore Road. The new bridge will be constructed just south of the existing structure, which will remain open to traffic while the new bridge is being built.

The project was initially put out to bid in November 2008, but bids were rejected because they were excessive. The project was redesigned in order to lower its cost. Design plans for the bridge were developed in coordination with federal, state and local agencies.

###