OXFORD – Oxford’s Main Street bridge project has been delayed yet again, according to the county’s top public works official.
Work to replace the deteriorating 55-year old bridge which links the Village of Oxford’s east and west sides was originally slated to begin in 2009, but has been postponed multiple times. Earlier this year, bid letting for the project was scheduled for Dec. 9. Now that date has been pushed back to May of 2011.
Chenango County Director of Public Works Randy Gibbon attributes this latest setback to funding issues.
“Federal and state moneys are just not there,” he explained.
Part of the problem is that the estimated cost of the project, initially expected to come in at approximately $3.2 million, has risen.
“It is currently $3,618,000,” Gibbon said. Which leaves the project roughly $400,000 short, an amount which neither the county nor the village is “in a position” to absorb. As a result, the county official said that aspects of the project which are not structurally important may need to be “pared back.” Such items might include reducing the number of street lights from 8 to 6, he explained.
There is still a chance, given the current economic climate, that the project will be able to be completed according to its current scope of work within the initial budget. According to Gibbon, it will all depend on how “hungry” contractors are and where the bids come in.
“We may have a lot of bidders,” he said.
Once bids have been awarded, work should commence in June or July and take an anticipated 18 months to complete.
For Gibbon, who is concerned about the safety of the structure, it can’t begin quickly enough.
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re still just living on borrowed time,” he said.
County engineers inspect the bridge on a monthly basis, their primary concern being a critical area which has already been repaired.
“We keep watching that,” he said.
At present, the span’s weight limit is posted as 20 tons – high enough to allow emergency vehicles, school busses and highway trucks to utilize the crossing. If at any point 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.
On Monday, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors took a small step in moving the project along, adopting a resolution approving the expenditure of $11,800 for “just compensation” to the owners of six parcels of property for easements.
According to Gibbon, three of those easements are necessary during the construction phase and temporary in nature. Those parcels are located in front of the Navy Block, by the Behe Funeral Home where the temporary pedestrian bridge will be located and along the banks of the Chenango River. Two will be permanent “small strip takings” where the new bridge’s retaining walls will be. The final parcel will be the purchase of a small strip of village property on the north side of the bridge.