You've heard of the bridge to nowhere. I've got one better that's right here under our nose, in Cayuga County. Last week, my wife and I decided to hike on Howland's Island. The bridge has been closed for years as well as a few others in the immediate area to include the Haiti Island bridge. Located a mile east, in sad condition.
You can imagine my alarm when I got out of my vehicle to hear a power saw running across the river. I passed the “bridge closed to vehicles” sign to see a brand new boat launch nearing completion. It's a nice modest refurbished boat launch freshly dredged, new timbers and decking, nicely grated and landscaped. Once I got to the other side I asked one of the workers “nice, but, how do I get to it?” His reply was “Beats me, I was hired to build it.”
I know the island well and frequently hike it. There is another access clear on the other side of the island that is under water for a good portion of the year and it's some rough road in between. It doesn't make sense if it were for canoes and kayaks, for two reasons: Why would anybody carry their canoe to the other side of the river to launch? Hmm ... do I carry it 100 feet or a 10th of a mile?
You don't need to dredge for car top vessels. The only logical reason is that they plan to reopen the bridge. As I looked at the bridge the other day on a fishing outing, there is a thick coating of rust covering the steel deck bridge. Don't you think it would be a better idea to fix the bridges first? I would love to see more access to the island; it's a great resource and is visited by more and more people.
Let's get realistic, Haiti Island is only one incident away from a collapse just a mile up the river. The residents have had to deal with the Band-Aid approach for years. They should have had a new bridge years ago. Did I mention that there is a boat launch across for Haiti Island? Where is the local oversight?
I'm not against any of this, but who is setting the priorities. Only in Cayuga County and New York state do we fix the boat launch when the bridge falls in. What are our local elected officials doing? Plain and simple, it's time to get rid of ALL of the incumbents next month. Are we better off today than last election?
Allan J. Fedyshyn
Auburn
I know the island well and frequently hike it. There is another access clear on the other side of the island that is under water for a good portion of the year and it's some rough road in between. It doesn't make sense if it were for canoes and kayaks, for two reasons: Why would anybody carry their canoe to the other side of the river to launch? Hmm ... do I carry it 100 feet or a 10th of a mile?
You don't need to dredge for car top vessels. The only logical reason is that they plan to reopen the bridge. As I looked at the bridge the other day on a fishing outing, there is a thick coating of rust covering the steel deck bridge. Don't you think it would be a better idea to fix the bridges first? I would love to see more access to the island; it's a great resource and is visited by more and more people.
Let's get realistic, Haiti Island is only one incident away from a collapse just a mile up the river. The residents have had to deal with the Band-Aid approach for years. They should have had a new bridge years ago. Did I mention that there is a boat launch across for Haiti Island? Where is the local oversight?
I'm not against any of this, but who is setting the priorities. Only in Cayuga County and New York state do we fix the boat launch when the bridge falls in. What are our local elected officials doing? Plain and simple, it's time to get rid of ALL of the incumbents next month. Are we better off today than last election?
Allan J. Fedyshyn
Auburn
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