New 100-foot-long pedestrian bridge installed in Medina over Oak Orchard Creek

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A crane from Trimble Services LLC in Fulton lifts a 33,000-pound steel bridge over the Oak Orchard Creek today at about 11:25 a.m.

The pedestrian bridge was manufactured by Bridge Brothers Inc. from Pickens, South Carolina.

The bridge is 100 feet long and 8 feet wide. It was delivered in Medina on a truck in two 50-foot sections.

Kevin Foster and his son Jack, owners of RJT Construction Services, are the first to walk across the bridge.

RJT is the general contractor on the project after submitting the low bid of $837,448. Barton & Loguidice also provided engineering services for $166,300.

The project also includes about 2,000 feet of sidewalks along Maple Ridge Road.

The bridge is on Maple Ridge Road over the creek awaiting to be lifted and set in place on its new concrete abutments.

The new bridge and sidewalks have been several years in the waiting. The village in 2021 was awarded a $1,094,196 grant to construct the bridge and sidewalks as part of a multi-use path for pedestrians and bicycles. The funding was awarded by the state through a federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant.

That is covering 80 percent of the project. The remaining 20 percent will be paid locally from the village ($55,000), Town of Shelby ($130,000) and Orleans County ($97,500) using their share of funds from a now closed revolving loan fund through the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

Workers put bolts in place where two 50-foot sections were put together.

The thick straps are put in place to hoist the bridge.

Kevin Foster, co-owner of RJT Construction Services in white hard hat, checks the work before the bridge was lifted.

Here are some more photos: