SKANEATELES - Sheldon Road will get a makeover.
After the state Department of Environmental Conservation flagged the Sheldon Road bridge for structural damages, the town explored different options to improve the small crossing.
With it now spring, the Skaneateles Town Board decided to replace the bridge rather than fix it, according to Jim Card, Skaneateles Town highway superintendent.
“When we were looking what it cost to repair or replace, and with the cost to patch it up, the money would not be that different that to just replace it,” Card said.
In September, state inspectors issued a yellow warning flag for the one-lane bridge because of small holes in the steel, rusted through the webs of the infrastructure. The holes measure 1 inch by 2 inches.
Card plans to contact the DEC to learn when the agency will allow town crews to work in the trout stream, Skaneateles Creek that it spans over. Card aims to work on the bridge this summer.
During a special town meeting Friday, the board supported Card and the town engineer in beginning to plan the undertaking. However, the board likely will vote on the replacement of the bridge during its March 19 meeting.
The town has started collecting estimates for a bridge kit. The replacement structure likely will be a culvert with an aluminum pipe arch. This material, a change from steel and concrete, will change the status from bridge to culvert thereby removing it from the state's bridge inspection program.
This change in form will remove it from the bridge category of the regular state inspection schedule.
“Hopefully we can do it with our own forces,” Card said of replacing the bridge.
Card also discussed two other bridges that were flagged during an earlier inspection. The DEC also called attention to a bridge on Fennell Street near the Old Seneca Turnpike, and Irish Road in Skaneateles Falls.
The agency had concerns that the two crossings' foundations are eroding from the concrete. Card says this concern centers around the fact that the bridges were built nearly 100 years ago and no detailed drawings exist of the structures' base.
The DEC simply wants to know if the bridges rest on a stone foundation.
Because of potential problems, the town highway department has to take measurement to track any possible changes, specifically after major rainfall in the area.
The Sheldon Road crossing also had issues with the questionable foundation, which was another factor that lead to the town agreeing to remove the current structure and install another.
The board agreed in October to a temporary five-ton weight limit for Sheldon Road until crews fix the bridge.
With it now spring, the Skaneateles Town Board decided to replace the bridge rather than fix it, according to Jim Card, Skaneateles Town highway superintendent.
“When we were looking what it cost to repair or replace, and with the cost to patch it up, the money would not be that different that to just replace it,” Card said.
In September, state inspectors issued a yellow warning flag for the one-lane bridge because of small holes in the steel, rusted through the webs of the infrastructure. The holes measure 1 inch by 2 inches.
Card plans to contact the DEC to learn when the agency will allow town crews to work in the trout stream, Skaneateles Creek that it spans over. Card aims to work on the bridge this summer.
During a special town meeting Friday, the board supported Card and the town engineer in beginning to plan the undertaking. However, the board likely will vote on the replacement of the bridge during its March 19 meeting.
The town has started collecting estimates for a bridge kit. The replacement structure likely will be a culvert with an aluminum pipe arch. This material, a change from steel and concrete, will change the status from bridge to culvert thereby removing it from the state's bridge inspection program.
This change in form will remove it from the bridge category of the regular state inspection schedule.
“Hopefully we can do it with our own forces,” Card said of replacing the bridge.
Card also discussed two other bridges that were flagged during an earlier inspection. The DEC also called attention to a bridge on Fennell Street near the Old Seneca Turnpike, and Irish Road in Skaneateles Falls.
The agency had concerns that the two crossings' foundations are eroding from the concrete. Card says this concern centers around the fact that the bridges were built nearly 100 years ago and no detailed drawings exist of the structures' base.
The DEC simply wants to know if the bridges rest on a stone foundation.
Because of potential problems, the town highway department has to take measurement to track any possible changes, specifically after major rainfall in the area.
The Sheldon Road crossing also had issues with the questionable foundation, which was another factor that lead to the town agreeing to remove the current structure and install another.
The board agreed in October to a temporary five-ton weight limit for Sheldon Road until crews fix the bridge.
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