Island residents: Where's our new bridge?

MENTZ - Across a rickety bridge over the Seneca River, daily life for 60 residents of Haiti Island has returned to some normalcy amid the clangor of loose wooden planks with each car that travels through.

It is with ease that people can travel off the island to Route 38 for work or school, to run errands or just have a change in scenery.

But just one year ago, life was turned upside-down when portions of the bridge plummeted into the Seneca River below, raising questions about the stability of the Bailey bridge, built in 1990 as a temporary solution after a snowplow damaged the original structure. The bridge was closed to all but pedestrian traffic and later all-terrain vehicles for weeks until the town of Mentz contracted with Slate Hill Constructors in Warners for repairs costing more than $67,500.