MAR 14, 2021 — 

Update for March 2021:

Last Fall we met with Loreman’s to discuss making yard signs to put around town to save our bridges. We are working to get this done for Mid to late April.

In November, we ran a PBS special that had thousands more views on social media than any other story. It had 7,000 views in 24 hours. (Other stories had about 120 views at the time).

In January at the first Essex County Supervisor’s meeting the bridges of Keeseville were brought up as something to be on the agenda for the year. We were asked to put things on hold until the covid numbers came down. Now that the numbers are settling, we are slowly ramping up our efforts again. I’ve been in constant contact with AARCH, our town supervisors and local Clinton County Representative any time Federal Infrastructure money was talked about.

Recently with the stimulus package, $10 Billion of infrastructure money was passed to go to the states. Each county would get some funding. Our town supervisors have supported this from day one, and this year we hope to make progress and get our bridges on the agenda to be restored.

There is now grant money available, but we need the county grant writing teams to research which grants we are eligible for. There is federal infrastructure money available, but we need county support to get that funding for our bridges. Our petition number is up to 1737 signatures (and I have not been advertising it). The counties can also spend their own money to do this, or use DOT funding however it is a long process.

The petition link is pinned on our Save Keeseville’s Historic Bridges Facebook page. Also coming in the next month or so, we will begin our letting writing campaign. We had originallu scheduled this for January, but we were asked to move it to April.

I’ve also been talking with a company that CAN and IS willing to restore both of our closed bridges, improve their weight restrictions and bring them back to “like new” condition. All in all we have made tons of progress this winter.

A few notes to remember:

1) Our historic bridges are each one of a kind, and the Upper Bridge is the last one of it’s kind in the world. The Chasm bridge is a very rare design and was experimental during it’s time. The location of our bridges are also very special to our community.

2) We can not accept donations until the Counties give their full support.

3) Due to NYS regulations we can not turn our walking bridges into pedestrian bridges without a full restoration for vehicle traffic. This is because of liability concerns of heavy pedestrian traffic being heavier than a car.

4) Our bridges can’t become “flowered memorial bridges” with flowers being used for decorations. These bridges are wrought iron and the sun plays a big role in keeping the bridges dry and well maintained. If the sun is blocked a lot of damage will occur and eventually cause failure.

5) Our swing bridge was last inspected in by the state 2014. A college group came in 2018 and gave their opinions that work needs to be done within 5-10 years or that bridge would too close down. This includes very minor repairs and painting. The swing bridge has had “yellow flags” for years and they haven’t been addressed. Soon enough a red flag will come and it will be closed.

6) Bridge restoration companies have told me that yes the bridges need repairs, but nothing out of the ordinary needs to be done. Just metal work and foundation work. Even though the Chasm bridge looks to be in terrible shape, it too can be restored to like new condition.

7) Many historical bridges are being lost because engineers don’t have the skills for hot iron riveting. (A long forgotten type of engineering) However, there are companies available that do these types of work in the US.

8 ) We need support from our county officials. We need to stay positive. We need to stay focused. We can come together as a community and make this happen!

9) Reminder, Please do not go on the bridges! They haven’t been inspected in over ten years. There could be unknown issues and they are closed for a reason. Let’s get them fixed!