A dispatcher just notified the Bethany Volunteer Fire Department that the Bethany Center Bridge has reopened.
The old bridge was built in the 1930s and in recent years had eroded into a crumbling, rusting eyesore. It was replaced this summer with a new $1.4 million span by the Department of Transportation.
Photo: From Aug. 17, when a construction foreman told The Batavian work would be completed by the first week of September.
These are pictures from this morning of the ongoing work on the new Bethany Center Road Bridge over Route 20 in Bethany.
A foreman said the work is on schedule and they expect the bridge to be ready for traffic the first week of September.
After years of crumbling, the Bethany Center Road Bridge over Route 20 has finally come tumbling down.
Demolition crews brought the 86-year-old concrete span down today as part of a $1.4 million DOT project to replace the long-dilapidated bridge.
Previously:
Press release:
New York State Department of Transportation Acting Commissioner Paul A. Karas today announced that construction has begun on a $1.4 million project to replace the bridge carrying Bethany Center Road (County Road 15) over U.S. Route 20 in the Town of Bethany, Genesee County.
The project will replace the 86-year-old bridge and improve safety for both motorists and pedestrians with upgraded guide rails, pavement markings, and signage. The bridge carries an average of more 1,500 vehicles each day.
“Governor Cuomo has made smart investments in transportation a priority across New York State, modernizing bridges and highways to support mobility and commerce, Acting Commissioner Karas said. “This bridge in Genesee County will provide safe, reliable passage for motorists and pedestrians for generations to come.”
The existing bridge will close on April 8th and traffic will be detoured. Construction is scheduled to be completed this fall.
The bridge, first constructed in 1932, will be replaced with a single-span steel structure. The two piers that support the bridge will be removed, eliminating the potential for falling concrete.
The new bridge will facilitate the movement of freight and support emergency service vehicles.
Senator Michael Ranzenhofer said, "The condition of the Bethany Center Road Bridge has been deteriorating for years, and I have been advocating for replacing the 86-year-old bridge. That is why I am pleased that this project is moving forward. This infrastructure improvement project will ensure the safety of the more than 1,500 vehicles driving over the bridge each and every day."
Assemblyman Stephen Hawley said, “Residents shouldn’t have to worry about their safety when crossing one of our area’s local bridges, and the Bethany Center Road Bridge replacement gives peace of mind to our families and businesses that use this route each day.
"Bridges are not only a means of travel from one place to the next but a means of security for our citizens making the morning commute, our children taking the bus to school, our emergency, fire and police vehicles responding to an accident and our business owners transporting goods to market. Projects like this are crucial to the vitality of our economy and community, and I am pleased to see it moving forward.”
Consistent with Governor Cuomo’s Drivers First initiative, this bridge project was designed to minimize impacts to the traveling public. The bridge is being closed to all traffic so that work can be completed most efficiently. Two types of detours will be put in place.
During the replacement of the bridge, Bethany Center Road will close for approximately five months. A southbound detour will be posted for motorists to use Old Telephone Road, Route 20, East Road, and Raymond Road. Local traffic will be maintained, but not over the bridge.
Additional temporary detours will be posted to reroute traffic from Route 20 onto Old Telephone Road, which runs parallel to it, for safety purposes during the demolition of the existing structure and placement of the new bridge. This detour will be in effect for the following dates:
April 9 to April 22 from 7 a.m. to 7 a.m.
June 5 to June 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 a.m.
July 10 to July 12 from 5 a.m. to 5 a.m.Motorists are reminded that fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. In accordance with the Work Zone Safety Act of 2005, convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver’s license.
PHOTOS: Photos from 2012 by Howard Owens.
There will be an informational open house at Bethany Town Offices from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, about the planned reconstruction of the Bethany Center Road Bridge over Route 20 in Bethany. CORRECTION: Time is 4 to 6 p.m.
There are no formal presentations, but NYT Department of Transportation engineers will be on hand to share details of the project and answer questions about the scope of the work, impact on travel during the six-month construction period, and other concerns residents might have about the project.
The current bridge was built in 1932 and is marred by cracking and crumbling cement and exposed rebar.
The new bridge is expected to have a functional life of at least 75 years and have two standard lanes that are 11-feet wide and shoulders with railings that are six-feet wide.
The $1.4 million project is expected to begin construction in the spring of 2018 and be completed by the fall of 2018.
Since Bethany Center Road ends three miles south of the bridge, detour signs will not be posted. There are parallel alternative routes.
When the current bridge is demolished, Route 20 will be closed for about two weeks. The detour will be Old Telephone Road, which runs parallel to Route 20.
The process of replacing the crumbling Bethany Center Road bridge over Route 20 will begin soon, according to Lori Maher, spokeswoman for the NYS Department of Transportation.
The project has long been on the DOT's capital program list but it wasn't scheduled to begin until October, however when asked about a report that the DOT was moving the project up, Maher said, "yes."
Maher said in an email, "Our engineering team will be advancing the contract plans and will be implementing a public outreach component to keep the community informed of the project."
While the original completion date was fall of 2018, the new completion date isn't available yet.
Previously:
Photo: FIle photo.
In a letter to the Department of Transportation, Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer has asked the agency to reconsider its delay in replacing the Bethany Center Bridge.
While the DOT has stated the bridge is safe, its visual deterioration gives the appearance of a bridge in a high degree of disrepair.
At one time, the bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2011, but it was moved down the priority list and the earliest proposed replacement is now 2015.
"I recognize that allocation of scarce resources is of particular concern, but I would urge you to reconsider the deferral of this project," Ranzenhofer wrote to Commissioner Joan McDonald. "Please consider adding this project to your list of top-priority projects and start the process that will allow this bridge to be replaced as expeditiously as possible."
Ranzenhofer said he has received numerous complaints about the bridge, both from residents and business owners. He cited the bridge as a vital link in local agriculture transportation, especially with the opening of the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
"Vital parts of the economy of the Genesee County would be seriously impacted by a failure of this bridge," Ranzenhofer wrote.
Download: Full letter (PDF).
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