by Amy Modesti
Town and County officials as well as a number of local residents gathered Tuesday afternoon, November 16, to officially reopen the Rensselaer County Route 4 (Van Hoesen Road) bridge, closed since December of 2019 after an inspection showed material defects that caused a structural issue. The bridge is often referred to as the “Buffalo Bridge” because of its proximity to the historic Mesick Farm, which features a large herd of buffalo.
“This is good news for our residents, our schools, our fire departments and businesses that rely on this bridge. We are definitely glad to see traffic moving again over the bridge and appreciate the attention needed to get this project completed,” said Schodack Legislator Charles Peter. Mr. Peter will assume the role as Schodack Town Supervisor on January 1.
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin expressed both pleasure and frustration at the ceremony. He told those gathered the County is happy to see the span reopened and back in business after a nearly two year closure, particularly for the motorists and residents who relied on the bridge. He also expressed his displeasure with the time it takes the Federal government to approve bridge replacement and repair over railroad tracks. “This project took several weeks of construction but nearly two years for review and approval. There needs to be a more efficient method of approving bridge projects over railroads that enable earlier openings,”
Schodack is also part of County Legislator Bod Loveridge’s district. At the reopening, he said, “This long-awaited bridge opening is great news, but it could have happened a lot sooner if we did not have to wait for approvals from the railroad operators. With all of this new attention from Washington on infrastructure, it would be helpful if the federal government would step in and streamline the approval processes, so that important projects like this don’t languish on the desks of bureaucrats.”