AASHTO Journal, 17 April 2015
The New York State Department of Transportation and other agencies have begun work on a $15.6 million project to replace seven bridges in the Town of Keene that are at risk from flood scouring, part of 80 bridges approved so far for replacement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the Keene-area project April 8, and said those seven bridges in Essex County are among the first under contract as part of the state’s Scour Critical/Flood Prone Bridge Program. The Keene area was hit hard by Hurricane Irene in 2011, the announcement said.
Last month, he had announced a $6.5 million project to replace two bridges in Genesee County, under that same program.
In all, Cuomo has requested FEMA funding to strengthen 105 bridges at risk in extreme weather, in a construction program valued at $518 million. The 80 FEMA already approved have construction funding of $278.4 million, and the governor’s office said funding approval for the remaining 25 bridges is anticipated this spring.
“Replacing these bridges is another way that we are building back stronger in the wake of severe weather,” Cuomo said. “By moving forward with these replacements, we are strengthening critical infrastructure in the region and better preparing our communities for extreme storms in the future.”
Bridge scour carries away foundation materials such as sand and rocks from bridge abutments, piers, foundations and embankments. Upgrading these structures bridges will help ensure access to emergency services during and after flood events, reduce flooding risk where bridge openings cause rivers and streams to back up, and curb highway travel delays or detours during heavy rains.
The initial project at Keene will improve safety by replacing the bridges, the governor’s announcement said, including adding steel and concrete pile foundations. It will increase waterway openings to improve each structure’s resiliency to severe weather events and harden the infrastructure for the future.
That work is also expected to reduce the potential for flooding on the bridges and the adjoining roadway. The bridges will be replaced during this year and in 2016.
For the state’s scour critical/flood prone bridge program, NYSDOT identified the structures that were most at-risk for repeated flooding. It focused on bridges in the Capital District, Long Island, Mid-Hudson, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.
All of the bridges covered by this program were built to standards of their time, and the announcement said they remain safe and open for everyday traffic. “Due to a variety of severe weather events and the increasing frequency of major storms and floods, however, they are vulnerable to scour or flooding caused by the intensity and velocity of water from extreme natural events,” it said.
