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St. Lawrence County officials modify budget to pay for work on bridges on McCarthy, Buck roads

Posted 7/3/22

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI North Country This Week CANTON — County officials modified the 2022 Department of Highway budget in order to pay for critical work required for two projects. County Department of …

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St. Lawrence County officials modify budget to pay for work on bridges on McCarthy, Buck roads

Posted

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

CANTON — County officials modified the 2022 Department of Highway budget in order to pay for critical work required for two projects.

County Department of Highways director Don Chambers made the request during the County Legislature’s Finance Committee on June 27 in order to complete work on two bridges in critical need of repairs.

The first project on the docket includes replacing the McCarthy Rd. bridge that spans the west branch of the St. Regis river, Chambers said.

“This project is currently underway. This project will not be eligible for CHIPS funds because it will exceed the amount that is allowable to be done by in-house forces,” Chambers said.

“This structure, in order to make sure we were able to construct this year, the beams were purchased in 2021 and were being fabricated during that time frame,” he continued

Chambers said the project was projected to take place over a two plus year time frame, with the anticipation of fabrication for the beams.

Revenue would be saved by using in house labor and equipment, also allowing the project to be completed much faster, Chambers told the committee.

The second project, which Chambers said is critical to complete, involves the Buck Rd. bridge in Waddington.

“This structure had already been yellow flagged by the state of New York and the county had of course already completed a lot of work to extend the service life of this structure,” Chambers told the committee.

Issues continued after a car accident on the bridge exacerbated an already troubled structure, Chambers said.

Temporary concrete barriers will be placed to keep the bridge functioning while repairs are completed, including the installation of new guard rails that were damaged in the accident.

Funding for the Buck Rd. bridge will come from an insurance claim, county officials say.

Work on both projects is expected to begin this summer.

Both resolutions passed unanimously.