DOT sets April 22 as target date to have Albion bridge open
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Workers from L.C. Whitford in Wellsville repair the cover plates on the bottom of the Main Street lift bridge in Albion this afternoon.
The bridge has been closed since March 25 for repairs. Besides working on the cover plates, L.C. Whitford is fixing the floor beams and replacing some of the stringers on the bridge.
Two years ago most of the stringers were replaced. The current project will replace ones that weren’t changed in 2013.
“The road salt just wreaks havoc on these old bridges,” said Scott Sullivan, the DOT engineer in charge of the project.
The pits on the north and south sides of the bridge from 1911 also need work. Those pits hold the counter-weights that are used to move the bridge up and down. The lifting frame on the south pit will be upgraded and the beam on the north side pit will be fixed as part of the repair effort.
Sullivan said the DOT wants to have the work done by April 22, when the historic Erie Canal begins to be filled for its 191st season.
