Local bridge to nowhere, 3 years and counting

By Brandon Nunez | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – Bridge 327, closed since 2017, is located at the crossing of the Little Beaverkill connecting Old Rte. 17 and Old Liberty Road. The closure has been inconvenient and a safety concern for residents, leaving them wondering if and when the bridge will ever be repaired.

According to bridge engineer Bob Trotta of the Sullivan County Department of Works, the reason behind the bridge closure is the same reason for many infrastructure problems throughout the county: money. Because towns don’t have the funds, the county has been delegated to maintain all of Sullivan’s 401 bridges.

Sullivan County schedules and funds bridge work in six year increments. In the current six-year program, $40.3 million is allocated to address the replacement, rehabilitation or major maintenance of 59 high-priority bridges. Priority is based on four criteria: the amount of traffic on the road; the detour length; whether the road is a dead end; and the degree to which the structure suffers structural deterioration.

The county only has so much money for bridge repair, and the bridge on Old Liberty Road is not a high priority, given the traffic count of only 78 vehicles per day and a short alternative route is accessible with no safety issues, according to the county’s assessment. It is estimated that the cost to repair the bridge would be $1.4 million.

“My entire career with the county is building bridges, so we like to build bridges, not close them,” said Trotta. “We’re public servants and we try to make the right decisions for everybody. It’s got to benefit everybody in the county to save money and do the right thing and make smart decisions.”

Originally built in 1898 for horse and buggy traffic not to exceed four tons, the bridge was upgraded in 1964 to accommodate eight tons, 12 tons below the standard 20 tons intended to handle truck traffic. In 1995, steel piers were constructed to replace the bridge’s timber supports, but they have since deteriorated. “Right now, it’s not on the program for another six years. After that, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Trotta.

The prognosis for repairing or replacing the span over the Little Beaverkill on Old Liberty Road currently does not look good. Local residents will have to continue to detour back to Rock Avenue whenever they wish to get on Rte. 17, at least for the next half decade.