The Saugerties Town Board last week approved a resolution funding the replacement of Drummond Falls Road Bridge over Kaaterskill Creek, estimated to cost $674,737. According to town officials, 95 percent of the town’s up front coverage of the entire project costs will be reimbursed from BRIDGE NY funds.
“It’s been a long series of negotiations to get us to this point,” said supervisor Fred Costello during a Wednesday, May 21 meeting of the town board. “And if we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities before us, the likelihood of that bridge ever being correctly repaired is pretty, pretty bleak. So this is a unique opportunity.”
The BRIDGE NY program is administered by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), with project awards resulting from a competitive process. Projects like the Drummond Falls Bridge replacement were evaluated by NYSDOT based on the resiliency of the structure, including hydraulic vulnerability; and the significance of the bridge, including traffic volume, detour considerations and impacts on residents and commerce.
According to an October 2023 inspection by the federal National Bridge Inventory (NBI), the condition of the Drummond Falls Bridge was deemed “structurally deficient.” The bridge, just off Route 32A near the southeastern edge of Palenville, was originally built in 1884 and last reconstructed in 1991. A 2017 NBI study found that the bridge averages around 279 vehicles per day, around 7 percent of which is truck traffic. That number is estimated to rise to 391 vehicles per day by 2037.
Costello said that beyond normal wear and tear, the bridge had taken a beating from Mother Nature in recent years.
“The abutments have been impacted by storms in New York’s past,” he said. “This will expand the bridge and move the abutments to a safer location, given the frequency of 100-year New York storms. And we think this will go a long way in hardening our infrastructure.”
The estimated $674,737 costs include various design stages, right-of-way incidental work and construction costs. To begin the process, the town’s pre-reimbursement will come from the highway department fund balance.
“This will be a lift for our community,” Costello said. “This bridge is a connection between the Saugerties community and the Catskill community in the Palenville area. This bridge is also important because it’s a component to emergency services plans and has many residential uses for neighbors on both sides of the Catskill and Saugerties border.”
Costello acknowledged that the project is expensive and could not be considered if the town had to go it alone.
“The funding sources are substantial,” he said. “We certainly couldn’t undertake this through our own funding means. So having that funding partnership is key to getting it done. And I think this will be a good addition to our community.”
Councilman Zachery Horton credited the town’s highway superintendent Ray Mayone for putting in the work to ensure the reimbursement agreement.
“I do think it’s worth noting how competitive in nature the funding source was that Mr. Mayone was able to secure for this project,” Horton said. “The federal Department of Transportation is very strict. They are no joke with their allocations and their grant opportunities. A lot of communities in New York state have been seeking after this funding source several times and every time they remain unsuccessful. So it is highly competitive, and I think we’re very fortunate to have this opportunity.”
Deputy superintendent Leeanne Thornton said that due to the metal Drummond Falls Bridge was something of a classic in bridge design.
“You can stand on it and look down and watch the stream underneath it,” she said. “It’s really like a step back in time, looking at some of the old antique bridges, but it definitely needs to be fixed.”
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