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DOT: Most work done on Massena’s new Parker Avenue Bridge, could open in late summer

Posted 5/26/18

By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- The new Parker Avenue Bridge is mostly complete and could open by late summer, according to a Department of Transportation official. “Last I talked to the field engineer, …

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DOT: Most work done on Massena’s new Parker Avenue Bridge, could open in late summer

Posted

By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The new Parker Avenue Bridge is mostly complete and could open by late summer, according to a Department of Transportation official.

“Last I talked to the field engineer, he said probably later in the summer” the bridge will open, said Michael Flick, DOT Region 5 public information officer. “The bridge rail is pretty much up.”

The multi-million dollar project involved tearing down the old, decaying bridge, closing an underpass and rebuilding the structure with a three-way roundabout to connect Maple and Center streets with Parker Avenue.

Flick said the total budget is $13.1 million and he expects the project to finish close to that budget. In an email, he said they “should finish up very close to the [$13 million] as there have been no issues or major changes.”

The new bridge will have two lanes and one sidewalk.

The former bridge had four lanes and sidewalks on either side. The DOT closed the old bridge’s outer two lanes in 2009 amid safety concerns.

State officials in late 2015 said that the drains were letting too much water run onto the supports, which corroded them over time, but it was still safe to drive on the inner two lanes.

Flick said the last big task is what they call “diamond grinding.” That involves pouring the deck and then smoothing it down to grade with a large machine he compared to a Zamboni.

“This one, given the length and the size, you pour the decks thick … then we go back and profile it to grade,” Flick said. “It mills the top of the deck to finished and final grade … it’s not unusual to do that on a bridge.”

“Given the size of the bridge and the slope and operation it is, it takes a while.”

He said there will still be a few minor landscaping details, such as sodding, seeding and planting in the surrounding area.

“The major items of work have been completed,” Flick said, adding that once all the work is done engineers and supervisors will go around with a checklist to make sure nothing was missed.

“It’s not incomprehensible to be done by maybe July,” Flick said. “We’re getting close.”

He said officials overseeing the project have reported the public has been supportive throughout the nearly two years of work.

“I talked to the engineer, the public has been great. They’ve been very patient, very kind,” Flick said.