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Editorials
What exactly is the status of the safety of the Lancaster Pavement Road and Cemetery Road Bridges and the time table for their repairs and/or replacements depends on where the information is coming from.
Consider the following timeline.
Potential halt on road, bridge repairs
Luke Morretti (WIVB) – October 10, 2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A decision to cut spending in Albany could put the brakes on much needed repairs for Western New York's roads and bridges.
Reconstruction of the Cemetery Road Bridge in Lancaster is questionable, at least for now.A decision to cut spending in Albany could put the brakes on much needed repairs for Western New York's roads and bridges.
Reconstruction of the Cemetery Road Bridge in Lancaster is questionable, at least for now.
"It's funny because next week I was going to make an announcement on it," exclaimed Senator Dale Volker.
Governor Paterson said the state can't afford it right now or hundreds of other Western New York projects contained in the Department of Transportation's five year capital plan.
Volker also said, "That thing should be done. We can prioritize projects. But you can't just drop the whole plan."
Paterson said the state is faced with a 3 billion dollar budget deficit and said he won't raise taxes to fund road and bridge projects across the state.
October 19, 2009 Lancaster Town Board work session
At the October 19th Town Board work session, Supervisor Giza gave the following bridge report.
The Pavement Road Bridge was red-flagged by the state on Friday, October 9th. The bridge is not being used by the railroad (CXS). The county couldn’t call us on the following Monday because it was Columbus Day. They put up signs that read that the bridge was closed to traffic over three tons. The signage was not good in that it gave no good assessment as to the safety of the bridge. We were out there working with the county for days and right now there is a lighted sign on the north side of the CXS Bridge. The south side has a sign but it’s not lit.
Councilman Dan Amatura interjected that there are now two message boards in place; one at Broadway and Pavement and one at Walden and Pavement. Amatura worked with Gary Sentz (DEP) in getting the two message boards located. The boards were rented and the costs will be transferred to the state.
Giza stated that there two options being considered for correcting bridge problems – short term repairs to immediately stabilize the bridge which would take four to six weeks to complete. They are not certain of the fate of the CSX Bridge as of now. They may just yellow flag it.
The ultimate goal is to fix the Cemetery Road Bridge next year – complete tear-down and replacement... The bridge may be down for a year, or longer. Then when that’s completed, they will work on the Pavement Road Bridge. They will remove the bridge that is red flagged, which will not be used any more, and fill it in. And then they are going to replace the CXS Bridge and lift it higher to allow for higher railroad cars. One major north-south road will be down for two years.
There is still discussion on whether it is feasible to tear down the south portion of the Pavement Road Bridge this year before the snow flies – instead of repairing it.
In the midst of this melee, there is talk about the town’s responsibility in the matter. “It is not the town’s fault as it is a county road and a county bridge," Giza declared. “We did what we had to do in a timely fashion.”
November 3rd Lancaster Town Board work session
Supervisor Robert Giza gave the following report on the Pavement Road Bridge.
The Pavement Road Bridge was flagged by the state. The bridges and the roads belong to the county and we have no responsibility at all. Regardless what you see on the Internet or read in the papers, it (Pavement Road Bridge is not a town owned bridge or is the road.
The state red flagged the Pavement Road Bridge a few weeks ago. In the meantime they inspected it and after looking at it more thoroughly they upgraded it to where 20 tons crossing the bridge is now considered safe. We got a call today and they upgraded the bridge to 50 tons. The reason is that the corrections they are making, which aren’t corrected yet, but they are starting the corrections, indicates the bridge was safe for 50 tons.
The bottom line is that no R-Rated vehicles, vehicles that are heavier than 50 tons and which would require a permit to do so, couldn’t cross the bridge. Supervisor advised that individuals who got tickets for driving over the bridge when it was posted for vehicles 3 ton or less, make it known to the courts concerning the new increased weight allowances.
Crumbling bridges poses safety threat
Luke Morretti (WIVB) - Nov 6, 2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Have you looked at the condition of some of the bridges in Western New York? Many of them are crumbling and in need of repair work. But how long will it be before they get some attention? Many of the bridges are old and in need of being repaired or replaced. Charles Sickler, Erie County Senior Engineer explained, "If you don't have the money to replace a bridge and you can't open it with rehab, the only other option to keep it safe is to close it."
Consider this: Nearly 80 bridges in Erie County alone are listed as structurally deficient, a federal highway classification. It basically means that the bridge is not performing as originally designed," explained Sickler. Examples include a bridge on Pavement Road in Lancaster. The maximum load has been reduced to 20 tons.
Not far from there is a bridge on cemetery road where you can it's been reinforced with steel beams underneath. They're open to traffic, but not performing as they were originally designed. They're just two examples of many more in Erie County that need attention.
Senator Dale Volker said, "If nothing is done with those bridges this coming year that's a problem. And it's a real possibility that some of those bridges may have to be shutdown."
State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli recently disclosed that only one-third of the money in the highway and bridge trust fund has been used to pay for needed improvements. He said the rest has been used to pay for debt service and state agency operations."This is nothing short of highway robbery," DiNapoli said. "This money should be used to keep our roads and bridges safe." Now the question becomes, how long can we afford to wait?
William Stachowski of the Senate explained, "We can't let the bridges go as long as the bridge at Lake Champlain, where now the people can't get across."
"The first thing we ought to do is stop building new roads and bridges. Stop it. Invest in the maintenance of the existing infrastructure," Sam Hoyt remarked.
Comment
Morretti says, “The maximum load has been reduced to 20 tons (Pavement Road Bridge),” on November 6, 2009. Supervisor Giza says 50 tons is max load weight at November 3rd work session meeting. Which is it?
According to most reports there is no state or local monies to repair the crumbling bridges and some will have to be closed. The highway and bridge funds have been used to pay off the debt and for state agency operations. Yet, Supervisor Giza speaks of a government plan for both the Cemetery and Pavement Road Bridges repairs and or replacement. Which government? Is it on the table?
Lancaster does not have enough north-south major roads as is. One has to shudder when thinking one could be closed for lack of repair funds. Most important is the safety of passengers in vehicles and the children transported on school buses over the two bridges.
As usual, just like when he called an MIT engineer a bohunk for bringing to light the unsafe conditions of the Cemetery Road Bridge a few years ago, Senator Volker is once again a day late and a dollar short. In fact, it was the residents who first brought to light the deplorable condition of the Cemetery Road Bridge and they were told they didn’t know what they were talking about. They were jeered and asked, “Are you an engineer”? They didn’t have to be when seeing netting placed under the bridge to catch chunks of concrete facing falling off, serious spalling/crumbling bridge walls and rocker supports off center.
Bridges and roads and airports, oh my! No town jurisdiction. New York State residents pay exorbitant federal, state and local taxes and in return are told there is no money for providing safe bridges and roads; but there appears to be unlimited funds for expanding small private, unregulated airports. Go figure!
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