COPAKE FALLS—Columbia County Department of Public Works Commissioner Ray Jurkowski announced a virtual meeting Thursday, April 21 at 2 p.m. to discuss the county’s plans to replace Valley View Bridge in Copake Falls, and specifically to explore the possibility of closing the bridge during construction.
Costs escalations due to material pricing and supply chain issues have impacted the cost of the project. The most recent engineer’s estimate for the project is about $2.2 million, according to a press release on the Town of Copake website. This is much greater than the original estimated funding amount of $1.15 million allocated by the state. In view of rising costs, solutions to reduce the expense of the project have been explored.
One item that was raised was the proposed staged construction of the project. Since the inception of the project, it has been presented that the bridge would be constructed in two phases, and at least one lane of traffic would remain open on the bridge at all times. It is projected that this methodology would add about $300,000 to the overall construction cost of the project and about two to three months to the construction schedule.
Commissioner Jurkowski has called the April 21 meeting to hear from representatives of the Town of Copake and other stakeholders regarding the possibility of closing the roadway and providing an off-site detour during the construction period. Closing the bridge would result in significant cost savings on the project and to the county. The total estimated construction period would also potentially be reduced from eight to nine months down to six months.
The link to join the meeting follows:
Join with Google Meet
Join by phone
(US) +1 601-844-2783<tel:+1-601-844-2783;680491810#> (PIN: 680491810)
