What would Oxford do if bridge capacity was lowered?
OXFORD – What will Oxford’s fire department, schools and highway departments do if they can no longer safely use the one bridge that links the village’s east and west sides? News that state budget cuts have rescinded funding previously allocated for replacement of the deteriorating truss bridge, which spans the Chenango River, has local officials planning for that possibility.
Work to replace the 55-year old bridge was scheduled to begin in 2009. Budget cuts announced by the New York State Department of Transportation last month mean the more than $3 million project could be out off until at least 2012.
“At this point it’s holding its own,” said Randy Gibbon, director of Chenango County Department of Public Works.
Gibbon said his department monitors the 55-year old bridge on a monthly basis. “The posting now is 20 tons,” he said, high enough to allow school buses and highway trucks as well as fire and emergency vehicles.
If the bridge is deemed unsafe or the weight limit is lowered below 15 tons, as it was prior to emergency repair in 2006, those vehicles will have to find an alternate route.
This is a major concern for Oxford Fire Chief Ron Martin, who reported that having to use the Rt. 220 bridge as an alternative could add at least 10 minutes to emergency response times. Those minutes can make all the difference when dealing with emergency and fire calls, he said.
“Every minute that goes by, the fire can double in size,” Martin explained.
Martin conducted his own time trials, driving a route from Butler Street on the east side of the village to the fire station and then back out on the call. Normal response time for a fire call is between 7 and 8 minutes, he said; with the detour, that jumps to 16 to 18 minutes.
These are strictly drive times, he said, and do not take into account the time it takes for volunteers to get onto the road after they get the call.
“There is already a delay from the time the call is made to the time of dispatch,” said Martin, as well as the time lapse between when the fire starts, is identified and finally reported.
“I understand his concern,” said Village Mayor Terry Stark.
The village has been actively looking for a storage facility capable of housing two to three pieces of emergency equipment on the west side of the river, said Stark. So far that search has been unsuccessful.
“We’ve been looking for more than a year,” Stark added. Although the village has looked at several properties, they have yet to identify an affordable location that would meet their needs.
For the village’s highway department, Stark said the detour would add about 5 minutes and several miles to drive times and distances. The police department would not be affected unless the bridge is closed altogether.
The detour would affect the Oxford Academy Schools as well. The district’s transportation hub is currently at the Middle School, on the east side of the river. The primary and high school campus is situated on the village’s west side.
Current school policy allows only one school bus on the bridge at a time, something Gibbon said he recommended.
“[The buses alone] weigh over 15 tons each,” he explained.
Superintendent Randy Squier had buses test the alternate route last week. He said the detour added between 3 to 5 minutes to the drive time. In the eventuality that this became necessary, he said the district would probably look at making minor adjustments to scheduling at the primary/high school campus to allow for the additional travel time.
“We would look at that or alter the [Middle School] times a few minutes and or combination of both,” said Squier.
Gibbon is working hard to keep the Oxford bridge project from getting pushed to the back burner.
“We’re still working trying to get additional funding,” he said. Part of that is encouraging local officials to write letters of appeal to state representatives, said Gibbon.
If it falls to the county to replace the truss bridge, he said, it would not be financially feasible for the county to construct the new bridge as designed.
“A lot of those amenities requested by the community wouldn’t be there,” said Gibbon.
According to the public works director, the county would look at constructing a more functional structure in the $2 to $2.5 million price range.
Work to replace the 55-year old bridge was scheduled to begin in 2009. Budget cuts announced by the New York State Department of Transportation last month mean the more than $3 million project could be out off until at least 2012.
“At this point it’s holding its own,” said Randy Gibbon, director of Chenango County Department of Public Works.
Gibbon said his department monitors the 55-year old bridge on a monthly basis. “The posting now is 20 tons,” he said, high enough to allow school buses and highway trucks as well as fire and emergency vehicles.
If the bridge is deemed unsafe or the weight limit is lowered below 15 tons, as it was prior to emergency repair in 2006, those vehicles will have to find an alternate route.
This is a major concern for Oxford Fire Chief Ron Martin, who reported that having to use the Rt. 220 bridge as an alternative could add at least 10 minutes to emergency response times. Those minutes can make all the difference when dealing with emergency and fire calls, he said.
“Every minute that goes by, the fire can double in size,” Martin explained.
Martin conducted his own time trials, driving a route from Butler Street on the east side of the village to the fire station and then back out on the call. Normal response time for a fire call is between 7 and 8 minutes, he said; with the detour, that jumps to 16 to 18 minutes.
These are strictly drive times, he said, and do not take into account the time it takes for volunteers to get onto the road after they get the call.
“There is already a delay from the time the call is made to the time of dispatch,” said Martin, as well as the time lapse between when the fire starts, is identified and finally reported.
“I understand his concern,” said Village Mayor Terry Stark.
The village has been actively looking for a storage facility capable of housing two to three pieces of emergency equipment on the west side of the river, said Stark. So far that search has been unsuccessful.
“We’ve been looking for more than a year,” Stark added. Although the village has looked at several properties, they have yet to identify an affordable location that would meet their needs.
For the village’s highway department, Stark said the detour would add about 5 minutes and several miles to drive times and distances. The police department would not be affected unless the bridge is closed altogether.
The detour would affect the Oxford Academy Schools as well. The district’s transportation hub is currently at the Middle School, on the east side of the river. The primary and high school campus is situated on the village’s west side.
Current school policy allows only one school bus on the bridge at a time, something Gibbon said he recommended.
“[The buses alone] weigh over 15 tons each,” he explained.
Superintendent Randy Squier had buses test the alternate route last week. He said the detour added between 3 to 5 minutes to the drive time. In the eventuality that this became necessary, he said the district would probably look at making minor adjustments to scheduling at the primary/high school campus to allow for the additional travel time.
“We would look at that or alter the [Middle School] times a few minutes and or combination of both,” said Squier.
Gibbon is working hard to keep the Oxford bridge project from getting pushed to the back burner.
“We’re still working trying to get additional funding,” he said. Part of that is encouraging local officials to write letters of appeal to state representatives, said Gibbon.
If it falls to the county to replace the truss bridge, he said, it would not be financially feasible for the county to construct the new bridge as designed.
“A lot of those amenities requested by the community wouldn’t be there,” said Gibbon.
According to the public works director, the county would look at constructing a more functional structure in the $2 to $2.5 million price range.
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