DOT sends warning about Morristown’s Bay Bridge

MORRISTOWN — Structural defects causing safety and sidewalk issues for the Bay Bridge spanning the village harbor have prompted the state Department of Transportation to issue a warning about its integrity.

“The county-owned bridge on Northumberland Road does have both a yellow and safety flag,” St. Lawrence County Highway Superintendent Toby W. Bogart said.

The state DOT, Mr. Bogart said, regularly surveys every bridge in the county.

“We just have to respond,” he said. “Internally, we decide upon the extent and promptness of addressing the issue.”

Mr. Bogart and his staff are putting together an “overall evaluation.”

“We’re working with the village,” he said.

Existing “soldier piles” — structural beams that hold up the bridge and stretch from below the river bottom to the undercarriage of the span — are “rotting away at the water line,” Mr. Bogart said.

While the DOT warning is serious, he said, there is no deadline for repair.

“It’s a structural defect. If left alone, it could turn into a major structural issue,” he said, adding that the bridge remains open. “It is not posted, and there are no weight limits.”

Mayor Cheryl A. Shatraw said the village is joining forces with the county Highway Department and village residents on options if the bridge is closed.

“A bypass road around the bay has been suggested,” Mrs. Shatraw said.

She said land belonging to the children of D. Johannsen “Joe” and Shirley M. McDonald, Northumberland Road, “connects to Bay Street, which dead-ends about a block southwest of Northumberland,” and “goes up on the hill towards the (Jacques Cartier) state park.”

Mrs. McDonald said if the bridge “becomes such that it needs to be replaced,” she and her husband would be willing to negotiate with the village about placing a road on their property.

“Depending on where they put it and what each other’s needs are,” Mrs. McDonald said. “We’re looking long-term here — what’s best for the village planning-wise and for the residents. An alternate route will be important to provide village and emergency services to residents living on the other side of the bridge.”

Mr. Bogart said that he was aware of the McDonalds’ proposal and that Mrs. Shatraw already had started talks with them about the new road. He also said that a bypass road would allow for riverfront development and that pulling out old bridge materials would open the bay back up and reveal more of the shoreline.

“I’ve had a survey crew and an engineer out there. We’re willing to assist the village with design and planning, but it will be a big expense,” he said. “But if the village comes back and can’t afford it or the landowners back out, then we may have to come back and do some major repairs.”

Facing few financial options, he said, the county would repair, not replace, the bridge if the village can’t figure out another plan. He called predicting a timeline premature because big decisions remain.

“There is plenty of life left in that bridge,” he said. “We’ll continue to monitor the situation.”