County legislators OK'd a $1.659 million project to replace the Lyon Street Bridge over the Tonawanda Creek on Wednesday, with a majority of the funding coming from a federal grant.
The resolution passed by the Ways and Means Committee authorizes the county to accept reimbursement for 80 percent of the project, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2015.
The county's share of the project will be $331,800 and be paid for from anticipated sales-tax revenue.
The design phase of the project is expected to cost $95,000. The local share of that expense will be $19,000.
According to New York Bridges Are Falling Down, the steel deck bridge was built in 1910 and is rated at 4.875 (on a scale of 1-7), putting it in the "dangerous" category.
With the work being done on
With the work being done on the River street bridge and most of that traffic using the Lyon street bridge that is putting a lot of stress on an aging bridge. Hopefully it holds up.
Is the Lyon St bridge
Is the Lyon St bridge necessary? I know people living in that area on S. Main & Lyon woill disagree, but in the big picture of things, is it?
Is it worth spending 1.659 million on? How about remove the bridge and spend that 1.659 mil (minus the removal cost) on something smarter.
The abutments on the South
The abutments on the South Lyons St bridge are from 1910, but the current single lane span was placed in 1987 as a "temporary" bridge. It is a "bailey" bridge that is commonly used by the military in mobile combat crossings of obstacles such as small streams or rivers. The single lane design of the bridge makes it "functionally obsolete" by federal standards and the condition rating given to the bridge (via annual inspection) makes it "structurally deficient". While structurally deficient, the bridge is in no danger of collapse and the added traffic due to recent work on the River St bridge is only temporary and should not make conditions any worse.
It is one of only three crossings of the Tonawanda Creek that remain in the City of Batavia after the Walnut Street bridge was removed in the 1980's. The County recently approached the City about not replacing the bridge due to cost, but the bridge does handle over 2,500 cars on a given day and when you consider that River Street currently takes double that and Oak Street even more, it did not make sense to divert this traffic to those already busy intersections.
The location of the South Lyons St bridge will make it a challenge to replace as it is squeezed against South Main Street and in a residential neighborhood, but a new two lane bridge could possibly lessen traffic at River or Oak Street. The design is scheduled to begin this winter, with environmental reviews and right-of-way issues consuming much of 2013-14. Replacement of the bridge will be complete in 2015 according to the current State Transportation Improvement Plan.
Tim, If the abutments had
Tim,
If the abutments had been replaced in 1987, would the bridge itself still be considered in good shape? Those Bailey bridges have a very long life cycle, with usually only the decking needing replacement.
Not in this case John. The
Not in this case John. The secondary structural beams under the bridge are rotten--most likely from salt being tracked onto the bridge in winter. Also, the single lane is a non-standard feature for obvious reasons.
What I find freaky about the
What I find freaky about the single lane is that if you're coming down Lyon you can't clearly see if there's a car wanting to make a turn onto the bridge at a certain point, and if you're turning onto the bridge, you don't have a clear view of traffic. I think single-lane underpasses and bridges can work, if both drivers have plenty of vision ahead of time to logically decide who has the right of way. Lyon doesn't always seem to work smoothly. And I'm always a little freaked out (just a very little), knowing the bridge's condition, when I drive over it in my big ass truck.