Port Jervis Council approves design project for Neversink River bridge

Taken the Times Herald-Record and MidHudsonNews.com

Replacement of the deteriorating bridge over the Neversink River will proceed to the next level. The Port Jervis Common Council voted 8-0 with one abstention on a resolution to allow Clough Harbor Associates (CHA) to move into the design phase for a new bridge.

After two public meetings to present the different options for the bridge, the Council decided on Option C Modified to begin designing the bridge. Option C Modified will take approximately one year to complete and involves improved access routes on both sides of the bridge. The new bridge will be built in stages which allow the current bridge to remain passable during construction. This option will also take less property from the adjacent private landowners than the other proposed plans. The cost for this bridge is estimated at $6.67 million. The City of Port Jervis will pick up $330,000 of the costs, $1 million will come from the state and $5.33 million will come from federal funds.

“Based on the proposals the council reviewed, Option C Modified was the clear choice,” Mayor Russell Potter said. “I look forward to seeing this important project move on to the next phase of development.”

Kathi Hylas, owner of two structures proposed to be torn down on the East Main Street side of the river, said two families with 13 people live in her homes. Hylas said that because of the depressed housing market she’s concerned she won’t get a good market value for her homes and that because the homes will be torn down she’ll lose out on revenue.

Hylas had been a proponent of having the bridge be built further downstream but according to Ted Otteni, project engineer, that option would have both left the town liable for flooding and would have been more expensive. It would cost the city an additional $430,000.

The current bridge is deteriorating and even after the recent repairs will not last long, therefore time was of the essence in deciding which plan the city would allow to enter the design phase.

Construction on the new bridge is set to begin in 2014. The Common Council as well as the residents of Port Jervis will continue to have input on the bridge design.