By EMILIA TEASDALE
STUYVESANT—A motion to move forward with the replacement of the single lane bridge to a two lane bridge in Stuyvesant Falls was carried unanimously at the county Board of Supervisors’ Public Works Committee meeting on November 20.
The proposed project will replace the existing bridge carrying County Route 25A over Kinderhook Creek. According to a presentation given by the county in August, the new bridge will “eliminate all structural deficiencies” as well as “address geometric deficiencies to improve traffic flow and facilitate traffic operation, including a second travel lane,” and “install sidewalk facilities and widen roadway shoulders to provide for pedestrian and bicycle mobility.”
Stuyvesant Town Supervisor Ron Knott, who is also the chairman of the Public Works Committee, said at the November 20 meeting that county Commissioner Public Works Ray Jurkowski, P.E., will formalize the plan into a resolution for the full Board of Supervisors’ meeting in December.
Supervisor Knott said after the committee’s vote that he wanted to make sure that the community comments that have been provided to the committee were “included into the design report as we move forward so that we can try and use some of the community’s desires and concerns in the future of a new bridge.”
Several members of the Stuyvesant Historic Bridge Committee and residents of the town attended the meeting and made comments throughout the committee’s discussion asking that the historic bridge remain one-lane, saying they do not support the plan that has been put forward.
The Historic Bridge Committee pointed out on their website (historicstuyvesant.org) that “the 125 year old Stuyvesant Falls Bridge is part of the National Register of Historic Places. Despite community-led preservation efforts spanning the past 33 years, it is in need of repair and can no longer carry the weight of firetrucks or agricultural equipment.” Supervisor Knott also pointed out that the bridge cannot support school buses or firetrucks at the Public Works Committee meeting.
The Historic Bridge Committee website goes on to say the county’s “poorly-conceived plan to replace the historic single-lane bridge with a large 2-lane design…does not suit the context or the needs of our community. There are critical problems with both the design scheme and project work plan that need to be addressed.”
“We deserve a plan that protects everyone and fosters the friendly rural charm cherished by Columbia County residents.”
The Historic Bridge Committee was “calling for a halt in the consulting engineers’ work and the implementation of a community-based bridge design process.”
At the Public Work Committee meeting last month, when asked by another supervisor about delaying the plan, Mr. Jurkowski said the county has a contract with the state Department of Transportation “that indicates that the project as a whole needs to be completed, including all the closeout documents by the end of December of 2028. When you think of that, that is not a lot of time.”
One resident cautioned the board about timelines saying, “…this project may end up getting bogged down because we from the community don’t support what’s been put forward. And what we’re asking for is a moment to review this historic asset and present an argument.” He went on to say, “Our community is passionate, mobilized, and informed and we have a good argument for keeping the existing bridge and rehabilitating it.”
The county’s plan proposed in August called for a final design in the fall of 2025, construction advertising and bidding in the winter of 2026 and for construction to take place in 2026-27. The estimated construction cost is $5.1 million. Funding for the program would be 80% federal funds, 15% state, and 5% county. The plan presentation is on the town’s website at stuyvesantny.us.
The next full Board of Supervisors’ meeting will be Wednesday, December 11.
The Historic Bridge Committee posted a transcript of the Public Works Committee meeting on their website and said, “The fight for preservation and a positive outcome is not over.”
There are recordings of all the county meetings and minutes on the county website at www.columbiacountyny.com
To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email eteasdale@columbiapaper.com