Trusses for Albion lift bridge will be moved by big crane next week

Photo by Tom Rivers: Workers are on top of the deck of the Main Street lift bridge in Albion this afternoon, slowly removing pieces of the bridge.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 January 2023 at 5:00 pm

ALBION – The Main Street lift bridge has slowly been taken apart the past month with the stringers, beams and other pieces moved by crane to the north side of the Canal on land owned by the Canal Corp.

A bigger crane is expected on site later this week or early next week, with the trusses of the bridge to be moved for rehabilitation work. After next week there won’t be a bridge over the canal for the first time in more than a century.

The bridge closed to traffic on Nov. 14 and is getting a major overhaul over 18 months. Crane-Hogan Structural Systems in Spencerport is general contractor for the project on the bridge that was originally constructed in 1914.

The project includes:

Replacing bridge decks and portions of the truss system with high-strength, galvanized steel.
Modernizing mechanical and electrical components within the bridge’s lifting system.
Rehabilitating the bridge towers.
Installing new bridge rails.
Repainting the bridge, maintaining its current shade of green.

When the work on the bridge is complete, the span will be moved back into place over the Canal, the state Department of Transportation said.

Crane-Hogan also will be doing a similar upgrade of the Main Street lift bridge in Brockport, with that one closing in early April. The company was awarded a contract for $28.3 million to rebuild the two bridges.