Brockport’s bridge opening pushed back to November
Albion isn’t alone in waiting for its Main Street lift bridge to open.
Brockport was expecting its bridge to reopen in early August but that has been pushed back to November, Mayor Ben Reed told the community this week.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, but we have some unfortunate news regarding the Main Street Bridge,” he said in a message posted on Brockport village website. “The planned reopening has been pushed back again, and we’re now looking at a new projected opening date in November. Barring no other unforeseen circumstances.”
The mayor said the delay is due bridge clearance issues, positioning sensor replacement (with the sensor due to be delivered in October), and a shortage of iron workers.
“DOT is actively working to see if they can bring in a crew from the New York City area to help speed things along,” Reed said. “We know this is frustrating for everyone! We will provide more updates as we have them.”
Brockport’s bridge has been closed since May 2023. It was bid out for a major rehabilitation with the Albion bridge. The DOT accepted a $28.3 million construction bid for both the Albion and Brockport lift bridges with Crane-Hogan Structural Systems in Spencerport the low bidder.
The Albion bridge was close to reopening a few months ago but a “catastrophic event” on May 7 pushed that back at least another 15 weeks.
Albion’s bridge was initially closed on Nov. 14, 2022 for what was expected to be about 18 months for a major rehabilitation. That project stretched to more than two years when the bridge was reopened just after Christmas on Dec. 27, 2024.
But the bridge wasn’t completely ready. It was left in the down position while the canal was closed for the boating season.
The control system to operate the lift bridge was being tested on May 7 when a failure occurred within the main drive system cabinet located in the control tower. A vendor, with a specialization in control systems and experienced in movable bridge projects, was starting the motor function tests.
“When the system was energized, one of the electric drive controllers arced, producing a fire in the drive cabinet,” Paul Attoma, engineer-in-charge for Region 4 Construction for the DOT, advised Albion Village Board members. “The arcing drive assembly was severely damaged, and the heat from the fire damaged the second controller. Both drive controllers are beyond salvage and other components in the cabinet were damaged.”
Significant lead time is needed to procure and test replacement control drive units, he said then.
Crews have been working on the Albion bridge recently, often at night. No official date has been released on when it will reopen.
