Bridge work underway in Mountain View
MOUNTAIN VIEW — A project to replace an existing bridge in Mountain View with a safer structure is underway with work starting on Monday.
According to Bellmont Town Supervisor H. Bruce Russell, the current structure that spans the Mountain View Lake outlet of the Salmon River was updated, structurally, about 20 years ago, adding there has been a bridge at this location over the Salmon River since 1899.
Russell said the main reason to replace the bridge was safety.
“I have been pushing for quite a while for a new one, the bridge is quite narrow for today’s vehicles,” Russell said. “The other thing is it has aged, it’s very old.”
Russell said metal on the bridge has substantial rust on it and said the county highway department will be doing the bridge work, adding the structure is a county bridge.
Russell said the new bridge, a prefabricated structure, is the same as the bridge spanning the Salmon River on Kimpton Road in the town of Malone, which was replaced by the county in 2021.
“This one is identical, everybody that has asked about our bridge, I tell them to take a peak over there and if they want drive on it,” Russell said.
The surface of the new bridge, though still open to one-lane of traffic, will be four-feet wider, and it has a solid deck, replacing the current steel-deck.
Russell said the new bridge will include a new walkway on the lake side of the structure, and he said the historical plaque on the lake side of the existing bridge will be safely removed and reattached when the new bridge is opened to traffic.
“The main thing I am looking for, historically, is the conservation of the plaque that is on the bridge from when Senator (Ronald B.) Stafford was so instrumental to do the rehab, maybe 20 years ago,” he said. “The bridge had been closed prior to that work about 20 years ago, the bridge had been closed, it wasn’t allowed to have traffic at all. It was a big move to get it back into use and it took some money to do that and to get a walkway.”
Russell said the added width of the new bridge will allow the new walkway to be within the main railings, whereas in the past it was on the outer side.
At a meeting of the Franklin County Legislature on Thursday, Franklin County Highway Superintendent Edward Adams updated legislators on the project.
Adams said the bridge’s new surface, replacing the existing steel decking will be better suited to the snowmobiles that use the bridge during winter.
Russell said Adams and Franklin County Legislator Greg Janisewski, D-Chateaugay, visited the bridge prior to the start of construction.
“We talked when they were up at the bridge,” Russell said.
According to an email from Russell, heavy equipment will be on Mountain View Avenue and the road will be closed from the Beach Road intersection to the Wolf Pond Road intersection for the duration of construction, which is estimated to last over 10 weeks.
Residents on Falls Road, a one-way street, should not use the lane known as the in-bound lane from the north, nearest the bridge, but should exercise care using the Falls Road’s out-bound lane as a two-way street, according to Russell’s email.
Russell urged residents to use caution around the work site, citing that space for workers and equipment is limited, urging spectators to stay away from the area while it’s under construction.
Russell said documentation and photos of the new bridge’s progress will be shared moving forward.
According to Russell’s email, the new bridge will allow for the removal of the “low weight” restriction of the current bridge, which is rated at a maximum of four tons.
