By Alex Brooks
The Edward Cottrell Bridge over the Walloomsac River, at the far end of Cottrell Road off Route 67 near the Vermont state line, has been ordered closed by the New York State Department of Transportation. The bridge was red-flagged by NYS bridge inspectors last week.
Apparently the initial message from the bridge inspectors did not paint the situation as dire, because when Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland spoke to the Town Board about it on Monday June 11, he believed that the bridge would remain open and would be posted with a lower weight limit. But on Wednesday June 13, he received a phone call from the State DOT ordering it closed. The bridge will be closed until further notice.
Shiland is consulting with New York State engineers and the Town’s engineer to see if something can be done to reopen the bridge, but it has not been determined yet if a short-term fix would be feasible.
The bridge was yellow-flagged last year, and because of that the Town has applied for funds to have it renovated or replaced under the Bridge-NY program. Announcements of grants from that program are expected towards the end of the summer.