All Bridges Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Keeseville's Historic Bridges

PBS 7 Minute Segment Coming Soon

By matt | October 3, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

OCT 3, 2020 —

Just a quick update. The producers of PBS and Thom Hallock are working on a 7 minute segment that will air in the coming weeks about saving Keeseville’s Historic Bridges.

As most of the research is done, we will continue to spread the word of our need to restore these bridges. My plan is to keep gaining support over the next few months from locals and businesses in the greater Keeseville Area.

Thank you all for your support! If you have facebook, that’s where I post the more frequent updates on the “Save Keeseville’s Historic Bridges” page.

Traditional Restoration Options are still a Great Choice

By matt | August 22, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

AUG 22, 2020 —

I just had an hour plus conversation with Art Suckewer an engineer from Wrought Iron Bridge Works in New Jersey. His firm have completely restored bridges longer and more massive than the Upper Bridge and Old State Road Bridge.

There are known craftsman who are across the country that have the long forgotten skills to restore these bridges to their original condition. Truss Bridges like the Upper bridge were designed to carry herds of cattle across them and can hold crazy amounts of weight. Many modern engineering firms don’t understand the history and construction of these types of bridges and thus the load limits are usually listed far below what they are capable of.

Currently the Upper Bridge is set for 3 Tons. He said It could very easily hold upwards of 15-20 Tons. The Most expensive part of restoration in place is the painting ($500,000+ because of EPA Regulations), but if the bridge is taken off the foundations, and restored off the river it makes it much cheaper to paint ($125,00-200,000).

He also mentioned that because the old state road bridge (Clinton County) is made of Steel, it would/should be much cheaper to fix and reopen. These are all assumptions based on limited information on the current status of the bridges. A complete restoration by someone who knows how to restore these old bridges would last 30-50 years. There is also new three layer paint process that will allow paint to last longer than the previous ten year cycle before fading.

The bridge would look and act like it did when it was first built once restored. There are many options available depending on the condition of these bridges. His firm and other firms like his, will keep the historical integrity of the bridges in place.

This is another option that could work and cost much less than putting the steel beams under the bridges and placing the old truss on top for looks only. His last thought was there is far more push for restorations now than there was 10 years ago. He also mentioned that there are still Federal Grants available even though NYS is not offering grants at this time.

He gave me his company’s name along with two other companies that I’ve already been in touch with. They all do things like hot riveting a forgotten skill that is needed for these bridges. They remove the bridge, completely disassemble it fix any and all issues with the superstructure, and reassemble for much less than a traditional restoration by modern engineers. There are options!!

Clinton County Update

By matt | August 14, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

AUG 14, 2020 —

Today we spent almost two hours with Clinton County Highway Supervisor Karl Wiess and Rob Timmons from the Clinton County Transportation Committee. They were tremendously helpful today, and we thank them very much for their time. Also joining us today was Clayton Barber, Sandy Senecal, and Steven Englehart.

SWING BRIDGE

We discussed the current status of the Swing Bridge and the 2018 RIT assessment of the bridge. Karl was great to have today because his engineer eyes see things from a different prospective. He pointed out some issues to be address such as the sinkhole, and proper drainage, as well as insight to how much it would best guess cost to paint and restore the Swing Bridge.

UPPER BRIDGE

I was given the chance to discuss the Upper Bridge as a member of the community. They were very open to hearing what I had to say. We discussed who owned the Bridges, Who is responsible for maintenance, and we discussed the Historical importance of the three bridges in town as a group. We presented our four areas of concern 1) History 2) Tourism 3) Supporting Local Business 4) Traffic Safety concerns.
We discussed opening up as a pedestrian bridge. If that were to happen the decking would need to be replaced, fix structural issues, and new railings put in that are much higher. The original plans for the 2008 renovation called for a pedestrian walkway to be installed on the side of the bridge to meet regulations.

ARCH BRIDGE

We discussed briefly the current plans to make the arch bridge a no weight limit bridge. I expressed that most people in town have mentioned to me they do not support his. Nor do they support a four way flashing red light at the intersection.

OLD STATE ROAD BRIDGE

Out of all the bridges, the Old State Road seems to be in the worst condition. Karl showed me the stringers on the bridge, and that you could see through holes with some of them. We talked restoration, bridge replacement, and opening for pedestrians. With the current status of the bridge, it’s going to be quite difficult to open for pedestrians as it is a liability. We also talked about bridge removal and putting up observation stations on each side. I expressed that I don’t think that would be a good solution because the real view is from the middle of that bridge.
The general theme from the County officials is that there is no money currently. I explained I certainly understand that, and that now would be a good time to start planning and come up with some solutions.

DONATIONS

I asked for their opinion on where donations would best be served. Unfortunately that is a difficult question to answer because studies would need to be done on all the bridges, which is very expensive to begin with. Until we have real numbers to work with, I’m not comfortable asking for donations.

THANK YOU

Thank You Karl, Rob, Sandy, Clayton, and Steve for joining me today. Now that we have heard prospectives from Clinton County, we hope to eventually do the same with Essex County Officials soon. We aren’t intending to make life difficult for anyone, we are just trying to preserve Keeseville’s Heritage.

I think once Essex County officials meet with me, they will realize what my real intentions are. To put a stop to the removal of the Upper Bridge, and to begin talks at the County Level for solutions of how to restore and reopen these bridges in the future before it is too late. Plan now, act at a later time. We need support from the County and we are trying to build those connections. Thank you again to everyone who joined us.