Town of Chesterfield Archives - Page 7 of 10 - Keeseville's Historic Bridges

Thank You WCAX

By matt | April 22, 2021 | Comments 0 Comment

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.

Essex County Upper Bridge Update

By matt | April 19, 2021 | Comments 0 Comment

APR 19, 2021 —

Essex County board of supervisors voted yes today to ask DPW Head Jim Dougan to look into options for restoring the upper bridge. A lot was brought up as far as concerns during the meeting, and I’m still gathering information. I hope to address those concerns and finally convince them this can be done. This is progress. We need Essex County Supervisors and DPW to be fully on board with us, and to help find ways to make it happen. They have the ability to research, use their experience and find funding.

I also heard a really great quote from yet ANOTHER engineer/expert in historical bridge restorations…

“There isn’t a bridge that is still standing that can’t be fixed….we restored a bridge in Delaware that was busted up and collapsed and was 1000 yards downstream”

Cooler Heads Will Prevail!

By matt | April 8, 2021 | Comments 0 Comment

APR 8, 2021 —

Cooler Heads will prevail! Today town board members from both sides of the river, both tow supervisors, Both County Highway Heads and others involved in saving our bridges talked to Art Suckewer of Wrought Iron Bridge Works. Art is the CEO of a company that manufactures advanced jet engine parts and is an expert in historical bridge restorations. Art spoke for an hour and twenty minutes not trying to “sell” his business but spoke as an enthusiast on how we can save the bridges at a lower cost, and that OUR bridges especially deserve to be saved. He also encouraged us to “think outside the box to get this done”.

The great thing that came from this meeting is now our town boards are all informed on what is possible and that our bridges can and deserve to be saved. The highway department Heads of both counties then had a chance to voice some of their concerns about logistics and NYS requirements. To some members of the town board this was very unexpected and possibly came off the wrong way. Art felt they highway heads were very responsive, listened well and open to creative solutions. Art explained that if we want our bridges restored we have to think creatively and proposed solutions to everything the Highway department heads of both counties had to say.

Immediately after the meeting I went to both town offices to reassure everyone that this pushback from the highway dept heads was expected. From my prospective, there is a lot of bad blood from years of trying to get this resolved. Cooler Heads will prevail! We need to stay focused, and keep working hard. The Highways department heads did explain their support and understanding of why they should be restored, but there are logistics they need to deal with on every level. They were just doing their jobs as the head of their department and we thank them for their time. The Highway department heads do not have a vote for themselves but will listen to whatever the County Supervisors or Legislature will tell them to do.

I sent updated emails to all town board members and a few county representatives that we are now more motivated than ever to find creative solutions towards fixing our bridges. We are gearing up for a massive push at both the Essex County Board of Supervisors and the Clinton County Legislature. These are the groups that will actually vote on supporting our bridges. We are working this week to put a plan together on what needs to happen with the “Upper Bridge” so that we can look for creative funding solutions.

I’m encouraging all town board members to forget about the past, keep focused, stay calm, collected and be respectful as we will be doing the same. But, at the same time we are persistent, determined…and quite possibly stubborn at times, and we aren’t going to give up. We aren’t going to take no for an answer. Our bridges are one of a kind, and we need Essex County and Clinton County to get on board to save history, right a wrong from ten years ago, and make history by saving our bridges for the next generation. This can be done and we need Everyone to be focused on this. More information on how YOU can help will be coming later this week. Thank you to everyone involved today for your time and efforts. If anything I realized just how much our town board members care about our bridges. Frustration can be a good thing if turned in the right direction. This is what we need to do. The frustration comes from our town board REALLY caring about these bridges. If you see them, thank them for their hard work on trying to save them.