SKANEATELES #- Residents may see a change to traffic on Sheldon Road in Skaneateles as the town reacts to a warning that it has to repair or rebuild the street's bridge.

State inspectors recently issued a yellow warning flag for the one-lane bridge because of small holes in the steel.

The town Board of Trustees has set a public hearing to discuss applying for a temporary five-ton weight limit for the Sheldon Road bridge until crews fix the structure that crosses Skaneateles Creek. The hearing takes place at 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 31.

Highway Superintendent Jim Card says the town will likely start work on the repairs next spring.

He added that town workers will handle the project.

A state inspector issued a report dated Sept. 26 stating the bridge has holes rusted through the webs of the infrastructure. The holes measure 1 inch by 2 inches.

Card estimated the repairs would cost a little less than the expense of replacing the structure, and recommended the town opt to construct a fresh structure.

He expects building a new crossing would cost about $65,000.

Repairing the bridge would cost between $45,000 to $60,000, Card said.

The town currently has nearly $41,000 in a bridge repair fund, and may pull the additional need money from another account.

Card pointed to the fact that the new structure likely would be made of culvert-style piping rather than steel and concrete, which would change the status from bridge to culvert thereby removing it from the state's bridge inspection program.

“Right now, we're constantly getting these inspections and they are finding these little things. We wouldn't have to deal with that for a long time coming,” Card said of changing the structure to a culvert. “So it would be money well spent.”

If the town, the bridge's owner, decided to replace the entire structure, Card suggested the town expand it to a two-lane bridge.

It's a 50- to 60-year bridge, according to the company.

The highway department does have money for this operation, but was counting on some state highway improvement money to assist in the venture. However, town officials aren't optimistic that they will receive this state aid because of the sluggish economy.

However, town officials hope to receive this funding so they can keep money in the bridge repair fund.

There are three other bridges in the town.

“Everything seemed to be good until the state inspector came down and got chipping away and he found a hole and now we, all the sudden, have a concern, I don't want to call it an emergency, but it's something we should tend to,” Card said.