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.

Now the town, as promised nearly a year ago, is in the process of building a replacement bridge, roughly estimated at $2 million.

During the closure, people were concerned with running out of drinking water, accessibility to emergency vehicles and the availability of heating oil and propane if repairs went into the winter.

While residents now have access to the mainland, one woman said they are still taking precautions in case the bridge comes down a second time.

“We all still have our four-wheelers,” Betty Ranger said. “We are staying prepared. We have boats with motors in case it goes down.”

Ranger installed a second freezer in her Haiti Island Road home in the past year and invested in three kinds of home heating for the winter. She is stocked with propane, a wood-burning stove and oil.

“We got through one winter,” she said. “Let's see if we can get through four more, or however long it takes.”

Though it appears no progress has been made on building the replacement bridge since the repairs last summer, Mentz Town Supervisor Peter Marshall said much has been accomplished, especially in the last six months, with the help of state Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, and the Cayuga County Legislature. Marshall ascended to the position of town leader in January after winning the election in November.

“I think with Senator Nozzolio and our county legislator, Dave Axton, the two of them have been working very closely on the project and we've made significant progress in the project compared to the progress that has been made in the past,” he said.

“It probably should have been dealt with a long time ago,” he later added. “From the town's perspective, it's not a situation the town could've dealt with by itself. It's a situation that requires cooperation between several levels of government, and unfortunately sometimes it takes an event like this to push all government entities into action.”

Town officials worked on filling paperwork with the state over the last several months regarding the funding of the project, and $1.69 million of mostly federal funds originally earmarked for another county bridge project has been redirected to replace the Haiti bridge. The federal appropriation will be administered by the state comptroller's office.

Mentz officials received a contract from the state just about two weeks ago. Once the town board passes a resolution to accept the contract, the state comptroller will review the materials and execute the document, at which point the town can begin expending funds for the project, according to the state Department of Transportation.

For each dollar the town spends on the bridge project, the state will reimburse 80 percent, said Andy Stage, a civil engineer in the DOT's Project Development Unit, who is facilitating the project for Mentz. He is helping the municipality with each of the project phases, from development to construction.

While the town will have to pick up 20 percent of the project, the state has extended another hand and offered some assistance. For the first three phases of the project, which deals with preliminary engineering work, consultants, incidentals and property acquisitions, among other things, the state will pay 75 percent of the remaining local share.

Stage said it is very unusual for a municipality to receive that assistance in the early phases.

“That program, for obvious reasons, is very popular in the Legislature,” he said. “They must have had a fair amount of political support to help the town out in order for all three phases to be supported to that extent.”

He added that the construction phase is typically the most expensive in projects and thus the state deems it most eligible for support. Mentz has not yet been approved for that phase.

Ranger understands that everything comes with a cost. But rather than sit idly by, she said residents are willing to help Mentz fund the project.

“These people here on the island, they would do a lot to raise money for the bridge,” she said.

“Even if it's earning $500 a shot or $1,000 a shot, it's still money they can use.”

At the county level, Axton said he's worked hard getting the Legislature to allow the county Highway Department to consult on the project, a role that would speed the process along.

“While it looks like there hasn't been construction started, it is certainly moving along much faster than it probably would have if the county wasn't helping out with the consultation,” he said. “A lot more is being done out there than it looks. I'd say more has been done in the last six months than in the last 17 years.”

Engineers that consult for the county have taken a look at the bridge in an unofficial capacity and offered suggestions for ways to move forward, he said.

Marshall expects construction on the replacement bridge to begin and end in 2009.

But many Haiti Island residents don't know any of this information.

“They don't keep us informed of anything about this bridge,” Mary Manwaring said of the town government. “And they know we're all concerned about it. That structure, they temporarily fixed that, but who's to say how long it is going to be safe? And is it safe?”

Mary and her husband, Fred, said they and their neighbors have been kept in the dark about the bridge project, which has fueled fears that the town will renege on its promise to replace the bridge and it will be another 17 years before they see a new one.

“I think a lot of the people back (in 1990), they were probably told the same thing we're being told now,” Fred said, “'You're the ones that want to live down there, so that's your problem.'”

“Now they are telling us this time there will be a new bridge coming, and a year later we still don't know any more about it. Now, supposedly we've gotten money set aside for it, but where's that money at? Who's controlling it? You can't find out anything about it.”

Residents have trepidation about the $1.69 million earmarked for the bridge, wondering if the Town of Mentz is dipping into those funds for other items. But the money is actually in the hands of the state and will be released to the town in the form of reimbursement, officials said.

The Manwarings said they feel ignored.

“We're still hoping we see a new bridge in our lifetime,” Mary said. “We are sitting in limbo here.”

“It's sad, it's very sad because when that bridge goes - and it will - God help me if my family is on there,” she said.

Marshall acknowledged that the town could do more to inform people on the progress made on the bridge, though he noted the project has been on nearly every board meeting agenda this year. One idea of getting information out there is to send monthly or quarterly e-mails to update residents on the project, he said.

Both Marshall and Axton recognize the toll this predicament has taken upon the 60 people of Haiti Island.

“I think it's been a very difficult situation for them,” Marshall said, “and under the circumstances I think they've been very patient and very understanding to deal with the situation as long as they have.”

While Axton applauds the strides the town and county are making to put a permanent solution in place, he said the bridge should never have come to this point.

“I certainly believe there should have been a plan put into place in the 1990s,” he said. “It's certainly unfair for the people to have gone so long without a permanent structure. The people have been extremely patient, so I applaud them for that. It's time to finish this thing up and move on.”

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net