OXFORD – The Oxford truss bridge was closed Monday so crews could begin preliminary work in preparation for the new bridge building project. They bored through the bridge deck and down into the Chenango River’s banks to check the composition of the earth surrounding the building area in the middle of the village. By studying the extracted samples, engineers can figure out what kind of stress the foundations might be able to hold, said Chenango County Public Works Director Randy W. Gibbon.
“They are checking the bearing capacity of the soil,” said Gibbon. The final design for a replacement bridge is still undecided, but engineers are looking at either a truss expansion or building a pier into the river to support the structure, said Gibbon.
The Oxford truss bridge has been in use for nearly 53 years. “The bridge is old. It’s just the way it goes. These things don’t last forever,” said Project Manager David L. Kennicutt of Delta Engineers, who have been evaluating the condition of the current bridge and will be responsible for the technical supervision in construction of a new one.
The bridge received a major overhaul in 1990 and the county recently had to perform emergency repairs. The bridge is regularly inspected, but the damage found at the last inspection in 2005 was seriously worse than predicted.
More public informational meetings are planned before a final design is selected. Village Mayor Terry Stark has organized a steering committee consisting of nine local citizens from the village and town who are helping with the project’s development.