Batchellerville Bridge
Action Committee

A volunteer organization committed to protecting the beauty of Great Sacandaga Lake

June 2, 2003

Batchellerville Bridge Update

Nearly a half-year to the day after closing one lane of the Batchellerville Bridge for repairs, the state announced on May 16 that it had finally located the $125,000 needed to fund the work. The source of the money is Saratoga County, which agreed to lend the sum to the state. Repair crews showed up last week and began work. The big question: Will two-way traffic be restored on the bridge by the Fourth of July, when vacation traffic is at its heaviest? It could be nip-and-tuck. That date is only six weeks from the start of repairs, while DOT originally forecast that repairs might take six-to-eight weeks. This could lead to some interesting traffic situations, especially at the Batchellerville end of the bridge. So please be careful out there!

The contractor will be Loudonville-based Malloy Construction. According to media reports, the company is on-call to handle emergency and urgent repair jobs for the state.

During the winter, the state sent two different crews out on the thick ice under and around the bridge. One crew's assignment was to test the structural integrity of the existing structure, and its final report is still under preparation. If that report is favorable, the state says it may opt to keep the span in repair for the next several years, perhaps for as long as a decade, instead of spending $36 million on its replacement. With the state running a deep budget deficit while facing increasing pressure to aid education, healthcare, etc., it's obvious that our bridge, which DOT says handles only 2,000 vehicles a day on average, is very low on the list of priorities.

The second crew's task was to take core samples from the lake bottom under the proposed site of the replacement bridge. To keep its options open, the state also is pushing ahead with final engineering plans for the replacement bridge. Apparently, even if funding miraculously becomes available, construction now could begin no earlier than 2005, a year later than originally scheduled.

Don't hold your breath!