WANAKENA — Federal and state funding has been awarded to St. Lawrence County to fund the majority of a $4.5 million project that involves tearing down the existing South Shore Road bridge and replacing it with a new bridge.
County Highway Superintendent Donald R. Chambers said the existing 140-foot-long span over the Oswegatchie River provides the only access to about 60 homes and businesses in this town of Fine hamlet, a remote area in the Adirondack Park. Sections of the county-owned bridge have a great deal of corrosion and rotted beams.
The large scope and cost of the project requires significant design work which means bridge construction probably won’t start until 2021, he said. The project will be put out to bid and outside firms will be hired to design and construct the bridge.
“This is going to be a very difficult project,” Mr. Chambers said. The existing county-owned bridge three span structure and will remain open while the new bridge is being built. “We’re going to have to leave the old bridge open while we build a new bridge because we’ve only got one way in and one way out,” Mr. Chambers said. “I envision we’ll have to build in a separate location, probably parallel, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
At some point, the county may have to get right-of-way approvals from property owners.
Also, the permitting process is expected to take longer than a typical project because the site is within the Adirondack Park and within a scenic waterway, he said.
The county will need to get permits from the APA, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Mr. Chambers said the bridge received a major upgrade in 1980 but it’s now deteriorated to the point where it needs to be replaced within the next few years. Some of the structure dates back to the 1800’s.
“We’ve done piecemeal work just to keep this thing open,” he said. “It’s getting tough to maintain it. The state has concerns as well as I do with the structure.
After sharing those concerns with the state Department of Transportation’s Planning Office, Mr. Chambers was notified earlier this month that federal and state funding would be allocated to cover the bulk of the cost.
“This is excellent news,” he said. “This bridge was very troubling to me. Number one, it’s very expensive. Number two this is the only way people have access to their homes. I saw this structure as beyond what we could deal with locally.”
Federal funds are expected to cover 80 percent, while the state will likely pick up 15 percent, leaving the remaining 5 percent for the county. Mr. Chambers said that translates into about $225,000 for the county to fund.