Bridges to be closed
New spans over Northway eyed
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Two bridges over the Northway, on Cresecent Avenue in Saratoga Springs and East High Street in Malta, are scheduled for closure beginning April 2 as part of an $8 million replacement project.
New spans are expected to open by Aug. 31.
Carl Zeilman, Saratoga County emergency services director, said police, fire and rescue squad personnel have been notified and have made plans for alternate travel routes.
“Should there be a call they will know ahead of time what detours to take,” he said.
Saratoga Springs Assistant Fire Chief Peter Shaw said the impact should be minimal, with regard to the Crescent Avenue Bridge, which connects Lake Lonely and northern parts of Saratoga Lake east of the Northway, with Route
9 (south Broadway) and Saratoga Spa State Park on the west.
The department gets few calls to northern Saratoga Lake and when it does, trucks typically go out Union Avenue to get there, he said.
“It doesn’t affect response times,” he said about the bridge closure. “As long as we know ahead of time, we can prepare and take an alternate route.”
During construction, the southbound “slip ramp” onto Northway, near the intersection of Crescent and Nelson avenues, south of Exit 14, will remain open.
At present, this ramp is only accessible from the east. When work is completed, motorists heading west over the Crescent Avenue bridge will be able to make left-hand turns onto the ramp, too.
The East High Street bridge, between Exits 13 and 12 in Malta, connects neighborhoods on both sides of the Northway and is an important corridor linking Route 9 in Malta to the east and Ballston Spa to the west.
Both bridges were built in 1962. While safe, they have aged to the point where replacement is necessary, the state Department of Transportation says.
The new bridges will have wider shoulders to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. They’re expected to have 75-year lifespans and will be constructed with cost-effective techniques to minimize future maintenance and repair expenses, DOT says.
During the closures, the Crescent Avenue detour will use Union Avenue (Route 9P) and Nelson Avenue.
The East High Street detour will use Malta Avenue (County Route 63), Route 9 and Van Aernem Road. The East High Street connection to Raymond Road is cheduled to remain open during construction.
Motorists should also expect off-peak lane closures on the Northway underneath each bridge for construction work, as well as full closures underneath the bridges at night for steel removal in the spring and steel beam installation in the summer.
In 2016, the DOT announced plans to permanently close the Nelson Avenue bridge over the Northway, while planning replacements for the Crescent Avenue and East High Street spans. But residents who would be affected mounted a strong protest, prompting DOT to leave the Nelson bridge open.
The Crescent Avenue and East High Street spans are a higher priority because of their condition. The Nelson Avenue bridge continues to be maintained and more long-term improvements will be made as funds become available, DOT says.