APR 22, 2021 — 

Watch the WCAX News story here:

https://www.wcax.com/2021/04/21/ny-group-pushes-to-restore-historic-bridges/?fbclid=IwAR1OgStZ25tV00MIBDuJPZgsIqb-stLjOjkOvW7rtkAUIpdjDV8We0XajOU

Thank you WCAX for running the story on our bridges tonight. I’d like to clarify a couple of things that were stated. I mean these in the most positive ways, and it’s not meant to take anything away from what was said by either county.

-Our county officials have grant writing teams that can research grants to cover the cost of these bridges. They have the experience, but need to be directed by the County to do research. Clinton County has applied for two grants recently (Swing Bridge and Old State Road Bridge) – Thank you!

-$3 Trillion in Federal Infrastructure money, $10 Billion in Federal Infrastructure money made available, $310 Billion in NYS Infrastructure money made available, $96 Million in Bridge NY funds made available, CHIPS money that each county could be used, but we have been asked not to use that. Clinton County received $1 Million in extra CHIPS money for this year. DOT money could be made available if the right conditions were met. Somewhere in all of that, has to be a way to fund our bridges. But I’m asked to find ‘creative means’ to cover the cost of the bridges.

– Shaun Gilliland was speaking about the plans to put vehicles over the bridges and what the weight limits would be…and he hadn’t ‘seen plans’. With all due respect, he was informed by our Town Supervisor (and invited by me) of a meeting we had with Town Board Members, Officials and Highway Departments with an Engineer who laid out a plan on how to restore the Upper Bridge. That engineer was not selling his business but providing information on a solution. Shaun did not attend that meeting.

-“Over $2 Million per bridge to make the repairs necessary” is not the cost of the restoring bridges. The Old State Bridge was far less than that. The Swing bridge wasn’t anywhere close to that cost. Each county has only one closed bridge to account for. Grants cover 80% and the rest is split 50/50 between the counties….(10% each county) costing taxpayers nearly nothing. We have even discussed ways of making this remaining cost less.

-We also had an engineer quote the Upper Bridge at 1-1.65 Million barring any long drawn out NYS processes.

-Let’s work together to find a solution, rather than finding ways that we can’t make it happen.