City signs $2 million contract for bridge job
Mayor Steve Noble has signed the contract with the construction company that will replace the Greenkill Avenue bridge above Broadway in Midtown.
The deal calls for Bette & Cring Construction Group to be paid $2.03 million for the project, which will include removing the current span and building a new one.
City Engineer Ralph Swenson also said a “preconstruction” meeting between city officials, the construction company, consultants and representatives of the state Department of Transportation and CSX Corp. will take place soon.
CSX is involved because it has a railroad bridge adjacent to the bridge that’s being replaced.
Swenson the meeting, expected within two weeks, is likely to result in a schedule for demolishing the current Greenkill Avenue span. He said traffic will be allowed to use the affected section of Broadway during the demolition, except when steel and concrete are being separated.
Swenson said WSP Sells, the consulting company that Kingston hired to draw up the replacement plan, has selected a “resident engineer” to oversee the day-today construction at the site, which is between the Ulster Performing Arts Center and the YMCA.
The entire project, including construction of the new bridge, is expected to take about a year.
The city initially estimated the project would cost $3.5 million, but the highest submitted bid was for just under $2.8 million. Bette & Cring’s $2.03 million bid was the lowest.
New York state is expected to cover about 95 percent of the cost.
The Greenkill Avenue bridge was built in 1952, is about 86 feet long and is used by about 4,000 vehicles per day, according to a study conducted last year. It’s being replaced due to deterioration deemed to serious to repair.
The city has long resisted closing the bridge because doing so would force more traffic to onto the already-busy Broadway corridor. Now that the replacement project is going forward, the city will establish and announce a preferred detour for drivers to use. For drivers heading east on Greenkill Avenue, there are four available left turns that will take them to Cedar Street after one block. Taking Cedar Street east leads to Broadway, and Cedar becomes Cornell Street on the other side.