Albion will seek Bridge NY funds to replace closed Phipps Road culvert
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Phipps Road culvert over Otter Creek has been closed to traffic since Sept. 9.
ALBION – The Town Board has authorized Highway Superintendent Michael Neidert to pursue state funding to replace a culvert on Phipps Road.
That culvert has been closed to traffic since Sept. 9 after an inspection showed the steel high-beam supports are rotted.
Neidert said it could cost $600,000 to $700,000 to replace the culvert that spans 19 feet over Otter Creek. He told the Town Board on Monday that the state has opened up a new round of Bridge NY funding.
The town has previously received a Bridge NY grant from the state. In 2019, Albion used $174,000 from that program to replace a culvert on Clarendon Road.
Neidert said the Phipps Road project is a bigger culvert and it’s over a protected stream. Albion applied for Bridge NY funding for the Phipps Road culvert in 2016 and 2018 but was denied. Now that the culvert has been closed to traffic, Neidert said that will give Albion more points in the grant application.
